Wildfire stalks rich and famous in Malibu's canyons
Hot, dry winds again drive flames in California
Last Updated: Sunday, November 25, 2007 | 5:52 PM ET
CBC News
Weeks after firefighters battled devastating wildfires in southern California, a new fire driven by hot, dry winds swept through the celebrity-rich canyons of Malibu Saturday.
A firefighter awaits water Saturday as a home is destroyed by a wind-driven wildfire in Malibu, Calif.
(Dan Steinberg/Associated Press)
Thousands of people fled the area as flames scoured at least 1,000 hectares and destroyed at least 35 homes, the CBC's Jennifer Westaway reported from Los Angeles.
In some of the tonier subdivisions in an area of multimillion-dollar homes behind gates, residents like Reesa Whettell warned neighbours about the flames coming down the ridge.
"Went to Minnie Driver's, went to Matthew McConaughey … and told them they had to leave," she told CBC News.
As the day wore on, Malibu mayor Jeff Jennings noted a reprieve: The Santa Ana winds, which at one point were gusting at nearly 100 kilometres an hour, were dying down.
"The wind, as you can tell, has dropped. Gives the firefighters and the aircraft a chance to really hammer the fire," he said.
More than 1,700 firefighters were battling the Malibu blaze.
"Any time you get a wind-driven fire where things are very erratic and unpredictable it makes for a very difficult and challenging firefight," Insp. Ron Haralson of the Los Angles County Fire Department told CBC Newsworld.
Last month, the dry Santa Ana winds fanned fires that destroyed hundreds of homes and killed about a dozen people in the Malibu and San Diego areas.
