The Franklin Fire was a damaging

wildfire A wildfire, forest fire, or a bushfire is an unplanned and uncontrolled fire in an area of Combustibility and flammability, combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identified as a ...

that began in

Los Angeles County Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles and sometimes abbreviated as LA County, is the most populous county in the United States, with 9,663,345 residents estimated in 2023. Its population is greater than that of 40 individua ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

during the 2024 California wildfire season. After igniting late on December 9, the fire quickly spread from strong

Santa Ana winds The Santa Ana winds, occasionally referred to as the devil winds, are strong, extremely dry katabatic winds that originate inland and affect coastal Southern California and northern Baja California. They originate from cool, dry high-pressure ...

and grew hundreds of acres that day. The fire burned , destroyed twenty structures, and damaged twenty-eight others. The Franklin Fire was declared 100% contained on December 18.

Background

The Franklin Fire ignited in the midst of strong

, with winds over per hour, and during a dry spell, including

humidity Humidity is the concentration of water vapor present in the air. Water vapor, the gaseous state of water, is generally invisible to the human eye. Humidity indicates the likelihood for precipitation (meteorology), precipitation, dew, or fog t ...

levels as low as 3%. Precipitation was late to come that year, and the dad low humidity dried out vegetation that fueled the Franklin Fire. These conditions were triggered by, and are becoming more common from,

climate change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...

Progression

The fire ignited north of

Pepperdine University Pepperdine University () is a private university, private Christianity, Christian research university affiliated with the Churches of Christ, with its main campus in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Pepperdine's main campus consists ...

, on Malibu Canyon Road, at approximately 11 p.m. on December 9, 2024. The fire sparked during a

particularly dangerous situation A PDS tornado watch issued on December 14, 2022. In weather forecasting in the United States, "particularly dangerous situation" (PDS) is the wording used by the National Weather Service and the Storm Prediction Center to convey special urgency in ...

and the quick spread was aided by dry brush. The Franklin Fire was first reported as a fire with potential to grow to . The fire had reached about at around 1:00 a.m. and ran towards

. Students were first notified Pepperdine University began a shelter-in-place. At about 2:00 a.m., officials announced the closure of

Pacific Coast Highway Pacific Coast Highway may refer to: Roads * Pacific Coast Highway or PCH, segments of California State Route 1 * Pacific Coast Highway, parts of New Zealand State Highway 2 and all of New Zealand State Highway 25 and New Zealand State Highway 35. ...

. By now, an emergency proclamation had been signed. At some point, the fire had tripled its size in one hour. The fire had been wind-driven by strong

, resulting in a power outage in the area. Evacuations had been issued for parts of central and western Malibu, with extremely dangerous conditions from high winds and was at and there had been large power shutoffs. The fire had jumped Pacific Coast Highway. Because of the critical rate of spread and proximity to urban areas, approximately 1,700 firefighters from thirteen different agencies were responding to the Franklin Fire. In the early hours of Wednesday, December 11, the fire increased from to , and later to . However, officials announced the first bit of containment on the fire, 7%. After the fire had reached 30% containment the next day, the main focus was now repopulating evacuated areas and assessing damage. By December 13, all evacuations orders had been reduced to warnings and Pacific Coast Highway had completely reopened. Fire suppression efforts were aided by winds dying down, cooler weather, and increased

levels. By December 15, the fire had reached 49% containment with minimal activity reported. Damage inspections were fully complete on December 16. Despite a

red flag warning A red flag warning is a forecast warning issued by the National Weather Service (NWS) in the United States to inform the public, firefighters, and land management agencies that conditions are ideal for wildfire combustion, and rapid spread. These ...

with winds gust up to per hour, the fire did not grow. Ultimately, the red flag warning was lifted three hours early when the strong winds died down earlier than expected. The fire reached full containment on December 18.

Effects

The Franklin Fire destroyed 20 structures and damaged 28 in

Malibu, California Malibu ( ; ; ) is a beach city in the Santa Monica Mountains region of Los Angeles County, California, about west of downtown Los Angeles. It is known for its Mediterranean climate, its strip of beaches stretching along the Pacific Ocean coa ...

. There were power outages in Malibu and at Pepperdine University from emergency power shutoffs. Up to 40,000 customers were affected by the power shutoffs. Several roads were closed as a result of the fire, including

. At Pepperdine University, final exams of the semester were cancelled or postponed. All schools in Malibu were closed on December 10. Malibu Elementary, Middle, and

High Schools A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., b ...

were closed during the fire, but reopened on December 16. Webster Elementary students attended classes at Malibu Elementary because there was fire damage to the roofs, solar panels, and some on-campus buildings. The school was properly cleaned and restored and reopened on January 6. A smoke advisory was issued for northwestern Los Angeles County from December 11 - 12.

Evacuations

The Franklin Fire caused evacuations for the city of Malibu and surrounding areas. Students at Pepperdine University held a

shelter-in-place Shelter-in-place (SIP; also known as a shelter-in-place warning, SAME code SPW) is the act of seeking safety within the building one already occupies, rather than evacuating the area or seeking a community emergency shelter. The American Red Cr ...

. At the height of the Franklin Fire, about 20,000 people were under evacuation notices.

Growth and containment table

References