/US

Home

World

U.S.

Politics

Entertainment

Health

Tech

Travel

Living

Business

Sports

Time.com

Video

I-Report

Impact

Hot Topics » Toy Recalls • Holiday Shopping •
Natalee Holloway •
CNN/YouTube GOP Debate •
More Topics

International Edition

Share this on:

del.icio.us

Wildfire swiftly devours homes, acreage near Malibu

Story Highlights

NEW: Officials warn residents they're not out of danger even if
winds die down

NEW: About 1,700 firefighters, 23 aircraft battling the
wildfire

35 homes destroyed; fire covers 2,200 acres

Hundreds evacuated; shelter set up at high school

Next
Article in U.S. »

Read

VIDEO

PHOTOS

MALIBU, California (CNN) -- Firefighters in Malibu, California,
struggled Saturday to control a raging wildfire that destroyed dozens of homes
after it broke out before dawn.

A firefighter battles flames at a home in
Malibu, California, on
Saturday.

more
photos »

Officials described the fire as "dangerous and dynamic" and warned residents
not to let down their guard if winds weaken during the afternoon, as
expected.

"Winds can start up again in a hurry, they can change direction suddenly, and
the fire itself can create its own weather conditions," Los Angeles County
Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky said. "So just because the wind is dying down does
not mean that people are out of danger."

Yaroslavsky said the fire had burned 2,200 acres and 35 homes. Watch
houses engulfed in flames »

Hundreds of people were being evacuated after the fire started, around 3:30
a.m. PT. Strong winds fanned the flames, a fire official told CNN.

"Whenever these fires are pushed by ... winds, it's a like a blow torch with
a hair dryer behind it," Inspector Sam Padilla of the Los Angeles County Fire
Department said.

Officials said the fire had jumped the Pacific Coast Highway and was moving
west, into more heavily populated areas.

Padilla said the fire had entered the city of Malibu.

Yaroslavsky said 1,700 firefighters and 23 aircraft were battling the blaze.
He said one state firefighter was injured, but not seriously.

Officials said it's unclear how the wildfire started, and that
arson investigators were on the scene.

High winds and low humidity were impeding progress, Padilla said. Video
images showed helicopters sucking water from swimming pools to fight the
flames.

Mandatory evacuations were called for Corral Canyon, where the fire started,
and areas west to Trancas Canyon Road, according to Malibu's Web site. The Red
Cross set up a shelter at Agoura Hills High School. Evacuated residents farther
south were instructed to go to Channel Islands High School in Ventura
County.

Don't Miss

I-Report:  Send
your photos and videos

A resident who was not told to evacuate did so anyway, and he told CNN he
thought his home had been destroyed.

Sia Hodjatie said he was awakened about 3:45 a.m. by the smell of smoke. He
and his family packed their pets into the car and started leaving the house an
hour later.

"When we were leaving, the fire was in our back door," Hodjatie said. "My
older son ... said, 'Dad, if we would have left 30 or 40 seconds more, we would
have been baked here.' And we saw the fire coming toward the house, and heavy
smoke, and very, very uncomfortable situation."

Frank Angel and his wife told The Associated Press they had 15 minutes to get
out of their house.

"I ran out on the deck and I just saw a little fire and smoke up the canyon
on the ridge [about a mile away]," Angel told the AP. "By the time we evacuated
it was already over the ridge. It spread faster than I've ever seen it."

Carol Stoddard, a freelance videographer and photographer, was told by
firefighters that her $2 million home was probably destroyed, the AP
reported.

Stoddard told the AP she also lost her collection of 12 uninsured cars.

"I stayed there until I couldn't breathe and the embers were flying
everywhere," she told the AP. "It was dark and I was standing around my house. I
couldn't see. I couldn't grab enough stuff that was of importance, like my
passport."

"Waking up at 4 in the morning with the smell of smoke in your nose and the
wind beating at the windows is something that we learn to live with here, but it
always comes as something of a shock," said Malibu Mayor Jeff Jennings. "And any
time that you have a fire that claims 35 homes, it's a disaster."

Thick smoke billowed into the air and could be seen several miles from the
flames, witnesses said. The fire is producing a "tremendous" amount of smoke,
Pepperdine University official Jerry Derloshon told CNN.

Looking westward, where the fire was several miles away, he said, "There's so
much smoke it almost defies understanding."

Pepperdine students were being asked to relocate to a central location on
campus as a precaution, he said.

CNN meteorologist Bonnie Schneider said wind gusts of 59 mph had died down
slightly, to 57 mph. Sustained winds of 22 mph were blowing from the northeast,
she said. A wind advisory was in effect south to San Diego until 6 p.m., and
stronger winds were blowing in inland valley areas, she said.

"Definitely deja vu, definitely not something we expected," Brown said of the
fire, which came only about a month after more than two dozen wind-whipped
wildfires killed 14 people and forced hundreds of thousands of people from their
homes in Southern California.

Maurice Luque, a spokesman for the San Diego Fire Department, said their
firefighters were ready in case the fire spreads there. The city is about 130
miles southeast of Malibu.

"We're very, very concerned. We're on high alert. Our fire crews have been
told to be ready to come in off duty. They all have their equipment with them so
they can report anywhere they're needed."

"We're hoping and praying that the winds do not materialize down here, that
we have no fires, and there's no need for additional resources down here if
something breaks. It's a very tense, nervous situation," Luque said. E-mail
to a friend

Copyright 2007 CNN. All rights reserved.This material
may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press
contributed to this report.

All About Wildfires • Malibu

Share this on:

del.icio.us

From the Blogs: Controversy, commentary, and
debate

Sit
tight, we're getting to the good stuff

powered by Sphere

Top News

Prosecutor
believes Holloway is dead

Australians
elect new prime minister

Most Viewed

Most
Emailed

Top
Searches

1 Malibu
wildfire destroys homes

2 Buyer
in Italy snaps up Texas town on...

3 5
found dead in park

4 Prosecutor:
Holloway is dead

5 Jail
sex story stuns Brazil

6 Girl,
15, forced into sex in jail

7 Australia's
Howard defeated

8 Gearing
up for CNN/YouTube debate

9 Oral
Roberts president quits

10 Lawmaker
alleges racial profiling

more most
popular »

1 Doctors
untangle the strange case of...

2 Panda
super couple thrills zoo

3 Oral
Roberts University president...

4 Ship
sinks off Antarctica

5 5
found dead in park; murder-suicide...

6 Toilet
conference eyes revolution

7 Buyer
in Italy snaps up Texas town on...

8 Rudd:
I will be prime minister for...

9 Prosecutor:
'No doubt' Natalee...

10 5
tips for picking a good plastic...

more most
popular »

1 jena
6

2 michael
vick

3 oj
simpson

4 steve
fossett

5 britney
spears

6 madeleine
mccann

7 youssif

8 blackwater

9 myanmar

10 halo
3

more most
popular »

Most Viewed

Most
Emailed

Top
Searches

1 'Shut
up' ringtones

2 Malibu
homes up in flames

3 Rudd:
new page to be written

4 Malibu
homes on fire

5 We
lost our house

more most
popular »

1 Kilauea
percolates

2 'Shut
up' ringtones

3 Tasered
driver controversy

4 Little
baby, big stress

5 Stopped
for 'driving black?'

more most
popular »

1 video

2 anderson
cooper

3 larry
king

4 moos

5 black
friday

6 china

7 saudi

8 warren
jeffs

9 ron
paul

10 jordan

more most
popular »

1 CNN
Heroes

2 Natalee
Holloway

3 Holiday
Shopping

4 Toy
Recall

5 Brazil

more most
popular »

• Part
Time Jobs
• Sales
& Marketing Jobs
• Customer
Service Jobs

Quick Job Search

keyword(s):
enter city:

State ------- AL AK AZ AR CA CO CT DE DC FL GA HI ID IL IN IA KS KY LA ME MD MA MI MN MS MO MT NE NV NH NJ NM NY NC ND OH OK OR PA PR RI SC SD TN TX UT VT VA WA WV WI WY

Job type ----------------- Accounting Admin &
Clerical Automotive Banking Biotech
Broadcast - Journalism Business Development Construction Consultant Customer
Service Design Distribution - Shipping Education Engineering
Entry Level - New Grad Executive Facilities
Finance General
Business General Labor Government Grocery
Healthcare Hotel -
Hospitality Human Resources
Information Technology Installation - Maint - Repair Insurance Inventory
Legal Legal
Admin Management Manufacturing Marketing Nurse
Other Pharmacy
Professional Services Purchasing - Procurement QA -
Quality Control Research Restaurant - Food Service Retail Sales Science Skilled Labor -
Trades Strategy - Planning Supply Chain Telecomm
Training Transportation Warehouse

more
options »

Home
|  World  |  U.S.  |  Politics  |  Entertainment  |  Health  |  Tech  |  Travel  |  Living  |  Business  |  Sports  |  Time.com

Podcasts  |  Blogs  |  CNN Mobile  |  Preferences |
Email Alerts  |  CNN
Radio  |  CNN Shop
|  Site Map

CNN en Espaňol  |  Arabic  |  Japanese  |  Korean  |  Turkish

International
Edition  |  CNN TV
|  CNN International
|  Headline News  |
Transcripts

© 2007 Cable News Network. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc.
All Rights Reserved.

Terms
of service  |  Privacy
guidelines  |  Advertise with us
|  About us  |  Contact us  |  Help