Wildfire destroys homes in ritzy Malibu

By Jill Serjeant

MALIBU, California (Reuters) - A wildfire fueled by gusty winds destroyed dozens of homes from the mountains to the beaches of Southern California's ritzy Malibu on Saturday and was still burning out of control, fire officials said.

The second fire in a little over a month to hit this seaside enclave hugging the Pacific Ocean, popular with many of Hollywood's biggest stars, has consumed 2,500 acres so far and forced 15,000 people to evacuate, Los Angeles County fire officials said.

"It is a dynamic and a dangerous situation," County Fire Chief Michael Freeman told a news conference. "The fire is zero-percent contained," a second fire official added.

Residents began fleeing from their homes shortly after the fire broke out at about 3:30 a.m. local time, awakened by fire truck sirens and police cars with public address systems, several residents said.

"It is Armageddon up there," said film producer Michele Ghersi, who lives in Corral Canyon, below where the fire started. He evacuated in the middle of the night but later took his motorbike up into the charred hills to survey the damage.

Ghersi's home was spared but those of nearby neighbors burned to the ground, he said.

The fire initially was fueled by 60-mile-per-hour (96-kph) gusts of wind, and Fifteen thousand residents have been evacuated.

By midday, winds had died down to less than 30 miles per hour but officials cautioned that dangerous Santa Ana winds could pick back up later this afternoon and Sunday morning. A red-flag alert will remain until at least noon on Sunday.

"I wouldn't count on coming back today, and I wouldn't count on coming back tomorrow, but I think by the first of the week it should be under control," Malibu Mayor Jeff Jennings told local television.

More than 1,700 firefighters, and around 20 aircraft have been mobilized. So far, only one injury was reported -- a fire fighter who suffered minor facial burns, local officials said.

Yellow firefighting "Super Scooper" planes refilled with water by dropping down to the placid Pacific and skimming the ocean to load up tanks to douse the blaze. The planes then disappeared into dense clouds of smoke to drop their payloads.

TINDERBOX

Dry mountains drop spectacularly down to the ocean in Malibu, creating a quintessentially Californian but precarious place to live.

Mansions line the narrow beaches and the brush-covered canyons which snake up into the hills. A stretch of the landmark Pacific Coast Highway was closed as fire burned on both sides of the main road through Malibu, LA County Fire Inspector Ron Haralson said.

Local radio said there were unconfirmed reports the fire started at a late-night outdoor party on a dirt mountain road. Freeman said arson investigators had not determined the fire's cause.