Franklin Fire: Containment Increases To 30% As Evacuation Orders Begin Lifting

MALIBU, CA — The Franklin Fire held steady at 4,037 acres Thursday as firefighters managed to increase containment from 7 to 30% by nightfall. Now, some evacuation orders have been lifted and others have been downgraded to warnings as progress continues in the firefight.

Authorities Thursday will begin to allow "some repopulation of the areas" affected by the fire, Cal Fire Assistant Chief Dusty Martin said at a Thursday afternoon briefing.

"And that's strictly due to the successful efforts of all agency personnel working collaboratively together to start bringing containment and make sure the areas are safe," he said.

Some of the mandatory evacuation orders were lifted. "We will downgrade the voluntary evacuation orders, allowing citizens who evacuated — some citizens who evacuated — back into their homes," Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Capt. Jennifer Seetoo said.

Detailed information about the repopulation effort is available online.

After the Santa Ana winds that had caused the fire to explode finally subsided Wednesday afternoon, firefighters had the advantage of "moderate fire behavior" to aid their fight, Cal Fire said.

"Firefighters are making steady progress as relative humidity is expected to increase overnight, and weak northeasterly winds will persist into the evening. Crews are actively balancing structure defense with efforts to establish and reinforce the fire’s perimeter control," Cal Fire said in a Wednesday night incident update.

By Thursday morning, power had been restored to all Southern California Edison circuits in the Malibu area and traffic signals were back up and running, city officials said. However, major road closures continue to be in effect and thousands of people under evacuation remain barred from returning to their homes.

The fire's growth has slowed dramatically over the last 24 hours. Its size and containment have held steady since late Wednesday afternoon, a stark contrast to the fire's initial explosive growth.

It broke out before 11 p.m. Monday as a 5-acre brush fire in Malibu Canyon, north of Malibu Crest Road and south of Francisco Ranch Road, near Pepperdine University and the Malibu Civic Center, according to sheriff's officials. By the next morning, the fire exploded to more than 2,200 acres and within 12 hours grew to 3,049 acres, according to Cal Fire.

There were 1,947 firefighters assigned to the blaze as of Thursday morning and fire officials said they're focused on getting the 6,300 people who have been evacuated back in to their homes.

"Some areas around the fire are still going to (be) under evacuation orders and warnings," Martin said. "It is our number-one priority to get residents back into their homes and to their communities. However, we have to make sure it's safe to do so."

Four homes have been destroyed, six have been damaged and six smaller buildings — such as sheds and other outbuildings — have been destroyed, according to a preliminary assessment of some of the estimated 7,600 structures in the fire area, LA Fire Department Deputy Chief Eleni Pappas said.

Here are some must-know updates:

All Malibu public schools will remain closed Thursday.

Hard Road Closures:

• Pacific Coast Highway between Corral Canyon Road and Topanga Canyon Boulevard
• Malibu Canyon Road between Lost Hills and PCH
• Mulholland Highway between Las Virgenes Road and Stunt Road
• Cold Canyon between Mulholland Highway and Piuma Road
• Tuna Canyon Between PCH and Saddle Peak

Soft Road Closure (residents only):

• PCH between Kanan Dume Road and Corral Canyon

An earlier closure of Topanga Canyon Boulevard was lifted Wednesday. The road has fully reopened.

Shelters include:

• Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District, 2802 4th Street, Santa Monica (crated small animals accepted)
• Agoura Animal Care Center, 29525 Agoura Road, Agoura Hills (for small animals)
• Pierce College, 6201 Winnetka Ave, Woodland Hills (for large animals)

Earlier shelters in Pacific Palisades and Calabasas have closed.

City News Service contributed to this report.