Fires devastate S. California cities

A wildfire has ravaged over 3,800 acres of land here, closing parts of the Pacific Coast Highway and Pepperdine University.

Throughout Sunday and again on Monday over 1,500 firefighters worked to contain the blaze, utilizing several airplanes and helicopters as well as miles of barriers.

As of press time, several buildings had been burned or damaged, including one church, 14 homes and five businesses. Several communities in the area are facing mandatory or voluntary evacuations.

Capt. Andrew Olvera of the Los Angeles County Fire Department said that throughout Monday, firefighters were able to maintain a 10 percent containment level, which dropped to 8 percent. But the fire had also grown throughout the day, pushing out on the boundaries of what they had previously contained.

Olvera added that helicopters equipped with infrared sensors would do a sweep of the area just before dawn on Tuesday, but until then they could not get an accurate measurement of the fire’s size.

The total cost of putting out the fire is running upward of $1.2 million, and they hope to have full containment by Oct. 26.

“There will literally be thousands of homes that will be threatened,” said Los Angeles County Fire Chief P. Michael Freeman.

Though the official word from the fire department is that the cause is still under investigation, the Los Angeles Times is reporting that a potential cause is a downed power line.

The blaze in Malibu is only one of many currently burning in Southern California, with fires stretching across the state all the way down to San Diego and forcing hundreds of thousands to evacuate.

A fire in Lake Arrowhead forced the staff and guests at the UCLA Conference Center to evacuate, destroying 15 homes and forcing 1,500 other people out of the area.

Angela Marciano, the director of UCLA Housing and Hospitality Services organizational planning, performance, and development, said as of Monday afternoon the fire was not near the conference center.

In total, about 80 staff members, as well as some center guests, were evacuated and relocated to UC Riverside. While the fires were moving away from the center, there was enough smoke and concern about evacuation routes to warrant the center’s closure, according to a statement.

Fires nearby UC San Diego have caused university officials to be concerned about the air quality, which has forced a closure on the campus.

Garo Akmakjian, a second-year biology student at UC San Diego, said school officials sent out e-mails to students notifying them of cancelled classes and encouraging students to stay indoors.

“They’ve (also) been walking around on campus with megaphones,” he said. “I’ve been indoors all day and I’m not planning on leaving.”

Classes were also canceled at San Diego State University, the Irvine campus of California State University Fullerton, and many elementary and high school campuses in affected areas.

With over a dozen fires erupting all over the state, resources and firefighters are spread thin ““ so much so in some cases that firefighters had to sacrifice fighting the blazes to help evacuate people who refused to leave.

“They didn’t evacuate at all, or delayed until it was too late,” said Bill Metcalf, chief of the North County Fire Protection District. “And those folks who are making those decisions are actually stripping fire resources.”

Ron Roberts, chairman of the San Diego County Board of Supervisors, said dry conditions coupled with several other factors are combining to make this situation a disaster.

“We have a very dangerous, unpredictable situation. We have some of the highest temperatures, some of the driest landscape conditions, and some of the most powerful winds ““ all ingredients for a perfect firestorm,” he said.

There have also been strong winds and record-low rainfall in Malibu, which have contributed conditions ripe for a fire of this nature.

Some UCLA students such as first-year environmental science student Veronica Morones have been preoccupied with finding updates on the status of their families and homes affected by the fire.

Morones, whose family lives in Escondido, a neighborhood in east San Diego County, said the fires are four miles from her house.

She said she was unsure how she would get home this weekend to visit her family because of the closed freeways in the area.

But her biggest concern was the well being of the animals in the San Diego Wild Animal Park, which is also close to several fires.

“My friends and I all worked for the Wild Animal Park and it’s really emotional,” she said, adding that officials from the park have no methods for evacuating some of the animals.

She said her and her friends have spent the day trying to get in touch with their families.

“I really don’t know what’s happening ““ calling people, trying to get in touch with people, giving me little updates every now and then,” she said.

With reports from Edward Truong, Bruin senior staff, and Bruin wire services.

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