The Franklin Fire continued to burn in Malibu on Wednesday as the Red Flag warning was canceled at 1 p.m., with forecasters saying the winds were decreasing "faster than expected."
"While very dry air and elevated fire weather conditions will persist into tonight, the threat of critical fire weather conditions have ended," according to an NWS statement.
As of Wednesday afternoon, the fire burned 4,031 acres and is at 7% containment, according to CalFire.
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During a press conference, L.A. County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone said that seven structures were destroyed and nine structures were damaged. He added that inspectors will be checking for more damaged buildings and homes and will have an update later on.
Marrone also said that 1,532 fire personnel were assigned to the fire.
“Our partners from CalFire Incident Management Team 4 will assume command of the Franklin incident,” he said. “Your Los Angeles County Fire Department will remain engaged throughout this transition and our L.A. County Fire personnel will remain on scene until the fire is fully contained.”
L.A. County Sheriff Robert Luna said 19,982 people and 7,560 structures are in the affected area, and 12,600 people are under evacuation orders while 7,382 people are under evacuation warnings.
The fire started late Monday night. The cause remains under investigation.
The fire grew in size by about one-third overnight between Tuesday and Wednesday, Marrone said, and at one point it backed into Corral Canyon, threatening an RV park, where at least one structure was damaged.
But with winds dying down, firefighters appeared to be slowly gaining ground in the effort to slow the blaze -- a dramatic change from the danger faced by residents Monday night and early Tuesday morning when the conflagration exploded in size.
EVACUATIONS:
L.A. County Sheriff Robert Luna said 19,982 people and 7,560 structures are in the affected area, and 12,600 people are under evacuation orders while 7,382 people are under evacuation warnings.
Per CalFire, evacuation orders were issued in MAL-C111, MAL-C112, MCR-U021A, RMB-U030, SDP-U029-A, and MAL-C113-A.
Evacuation warnings were issued in KAN-U017, MAL-C113, MAL-C113-B, MAL-C113-C MCR-U021-B, MTN-U028, SDP-U029-B, SSM-U010, TOP-U008, VST-U022.
ROAD CLOSURES:
The following are soft closures, according to Luna:
-- Topanga Canyon Boulevard at Pacific Coast Highway;
-- Topanga Canyon Boulevard at Mulholland Drive; and
-- Topanga Canyon Boulevard at Mulholland Highway;
The following are hard closures, according to Luna:
-- Las Virgenes at Mulholland Highway;
-- Pacific Coast Highway between Topanga Canyon Boulevard and Kanan Road;
-- Malibu Canyon at Civic Center;
-- Malibu Canyon at Pacific Coast Highway;
-- Pacific Coast Highway at Corral Canyon Road;
-- Topanga at Pacific Coast Highway;
-- Mulholland at Cole Canyon;
-- Saddle Peak at Tuna Canyon;
-- Pacific Coast Highway at Tuna Canyon;
-- Pacific Coast Highway at Kanan Road; and
-- Mulholland at Stunt Road.
SHELTERS:
Palisades Recreation Center, Santa Monica Unified School District facility and the Calabasas Community Center are operating as evacuation shelters.
As for animal evacuation shelters, Agoura Animal Care Center is taking small animals while Pierce College is taking large animals.
City News Service contributed to this article.
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