Malibu On Fire: Aircraft Called In From As Far As Texas To Support.
Activity picking up into the early afternoon.
Late last night, winds swept across southern California, and the Franklin Fire popped off in Malibu. Wind gusts reached nearly 65MPH, and relative humidities in the area dropped as low as 10%, creating the perfect storm for a nighttime fire. The origin photo shared with me shows the fire starting off the road or near the road in Malibu Canyon.
The fire has grown to over 2,500 acres and remains 0% contained. Activity has once again picked up as the morning winds continue to increase and the inversion layer lifts across the fire area.
The Southern California Quick Reaction Force has been active over the fire all night, and aircraft continue to roll in to help suppress the fire. Fixed-wing aircraft have been called in from Texas as many aircraft are off-contract this late in the season. Specifically, the VLAT is off-contract, and orders for LATS have gone into Texas dispatch centers. The Angeles National Forest has also answered the call to help with multiple aircraft prepping this morning to help with the fire. Aircraft did their checks early this morning at Fox Fire Center in Lancaster, California.
I have covered the long overdue need to rework fire aviation contracts, so they are for longer terms, covering years instead of months. This will not only support the companies that run these aircraft but also provide better coverage for incidents like this.
Scoopers are also being used to suppress the fire. They were seen this morning dipping out of the ocean to assist with water drops. So far, an air attack platform, six air tankers, four helicopters from LA County Fire, Ventura County Copter 1, multiple Helitankers from the QRF, and the scoopers are working on the fire.
Large orders for ground resources have also gone in, with a major focus on structure protection. These canyon areas are challenging to navigate with large fire apparatus, especially when residents are working to evacuate themselves and their animals on these narrow roads. Many homes have already been saved by the work put in through the night by firefighters on the ground.
This afternoon, Red Flag Warnings are still widespread across southern California. Predicted winds and RH will remain problematic for the coming days. The current conditions over the fire area this morning are 20-30MPH sustained winds with gusts to 40MPH, which are expected to increase. The current temperature is 72 degrees, and relative humidities have already dipped to 10%.
There is high potential for new starts across southern California today and tomorrow. With a great deal of resources committed to the Franklin Fire in Malibu, any new starts could have the potential to grow rapidly unless some aerial resources are diverted.
In anticipation of the coming fire weather and Santa Ana winds, the power company SDG&E has decided to implement the Public Safety Power Shutoff Program, affecting over 51,000 residents. An SDG&E official said, “This is actually the highest fire potential we have seen in San Diego in six years.”
Southern California is in for a busy week. San Diego has one Fire already this morning with a critical rate of spread…
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Is this particular Malibu fire part of the '78 Marble Cone Fire that was partially in the Ventana Wilderness area?
Frustrating reading news. A lot of people saying they were panicked and didn't know what to take. It's not as though fires are a rare occurrence here. The time to get ready is before the emergency.