MALIBU, Calif. – A quick-moving brush fire in Malibu, California, prompted a heavy fire response and preemptive power outages in the region Thursday as Southern California’s Santa Ana winds brought windy and dry conditions, fueling wildfire danger.
The Don Fire began just after midnight Thursday morning in a two-story commercial building in Topanga Canyon near Malibu, but strong winds gusting to 45 mph pushed the fire into nearby heavy brush, quickly spreading to over 3 acres.
Firefighters and helicopters swarmed the scene as Southern California Edison cut power to parts of eastern Malibu and Los Flores Canyon to prevent strong winds from triggering any new fires. Fire crews were able to stop the flames’ advancement by 4:30 a.m. PST and had the fire about 50% contained, according to Los Angeles County Fire officials. There were no reported injuries or additional structures lost.
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But dangerous wildfire conditions are in place across much of Southern California as powerful Santa Ana winds bring damaging gusts and low relative humidity, and SoCal Edison is maintaining the preemptive power outages in eastern Malibu.
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The National Weather Service offices in San Diego and Los Angeles issued Wind Advisories for some areas as gusty north to northeast winds are expected. Los Angeles and Ventura counties may see winds blowing 20-45 mph with gusts to 55 mph.
In addition, relative humidity percentages are expected in the single digits or teens. Burbank reported a relative humidity of 13% early Thursday morning.
Thus, Fire Weather Warnings have been issued by the NWS office in Los Angeles for the mountains and wind-prone valleys of Los Angeles and Ventura counties, as well as the Malibu coast, through 6 p.m. PST. SoCal Edison is warning it may need additional Public Safety Power Shutoffs, or PSPS, on Thursday for San Bernardino, Riverside, Ventura, Orange and Los Angeles counties.
Of the 20 most destructive fires in the history of California, six were sparked by downed power lines, according to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. It added that 53% of the acres burned in 2017 were caused by electrical equipment and power lines.
This week also marked five years since the deadliest of the wildfires – 85 people died in November 2018 when the Camp Fire tore across the town of Paradise, California, fueled by ferocious winds that downed live power lines, sparking the deadly blaze.