Los Angeles News

MALIBU, Calif. (CBS) ― A wind-driven brush fire that destroyed 49 homes and two out-buildings in the Malibu Bowl and Latigo Canyon areas was started by "human activity," but not necessarily set on purpose, fire officials said Saturday night.

The so-called Corral Fire was 25 percent contained, but had blackened more than 4,650 acres and forced the evacuation of up to 20,000 residents.

It is believed to be the most destructive fire in the area in 15 years.

Seven firefighters suffered minor injuries battling the blaze, which began early Saturday near the top of Corral Canyon.

"Fire investigators from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, the Los Angeles County Fire Department and Cal Fire investigated the area and determined the fire was caused by human activity," said Sgt. Ed Hummel of the county Office of Emergency Management.

"We are asking for public assistance regarding this ongoing case," he said. "Please call the Corral Fire Task Force at Lost Hills Station (818) 878-1808 with any information."

The cause of the fire was determined to be "human nature at this time," said county fire Inspector Rick Dominguez.

He said human nature could be anything, like striking a match and leaving it behind, and investigators have not determined whether the blaze was deliberately set.

Power lines were reported down in the area, but apparently as a result of -- not because of -- the fire, said county fire Chief Michael Freeman.

In addition to the homes destroyed, 27 others have been damaged, and one mobile home and eight vehicles were destroyed, he said.

With the unpredictable winds appearing to decrease this afternoon, county firefighting helicopters were expected to continue flying through the night, although fixed-wing aircraft were grounded at sunset, Freeman said.

The fire was in steep and inaccessible areas, and hand crews would not be deployed in the dark, Freeman said.

Malibu Mayor Jeff Jennings said that the fire, along with another last month, have had a major impact on the community.

"With a loss of this magnitude, the number of homes that have been lost and damaged, it's difficult to find any kind of a silver lining," he said. "This is really a major event in our civic life. The city is going to have its work cut out for it in assisting those who want to rebuild in getting their lives back to normal as rapidly as possible."

He said brush clearance beforehand probably saved many structures from damage and thanked firefighters for their quick response.

"Standing here today and watching the aircraft, particularly, go into action was an impressive sight," he said. "It really is heartening. And of course, we've got to be very thankful that the winds died down ... We certainly dodged a bullet. It could have been far, far worse than it was. Our hearts go out to the people who lost their homes. But a home is just material stuff and no lives were lost, and you can put a home back together again, and that's what we look to do."

Freeman said they expect lighter winds Sunday.

He said the west flank of the fire was contained at or near Latigo Canyon and that he expects containment figures to more than double by Sunday evening.

The east wing of the fire was still a major concern, however, fire officials said.

"A lot will be dependent on the weather conditions tonight, which, based on the predictions, is pretty good," Freeman said.

He said he expected crews to "be out here for five days at least."

The fire broke out near the top of Corral Canyon about 3:30 a.m., when winds out of the north and northeast were gusting up to 50 to 60 mph.

Due to the high winds, spot fires started jumping well ahead of the main front, and soon several large homes along Newell Road in the Malibu Bowl area were in flames. Some homes in Latigo Canyon also caught fire before dawn.

One tongue of fire jumped Latigo Canyon Road and within minutes was hop-scotching down Escondido Canyon's trees, torching several houses but randomly sparing others.

As many as 20,000 residents from Corral Canyon to Point Dume were forced to leave their homes. The evacuation orders jarred many of them awake shortly after sunrise, in a situation reminiscent of last month's Santa Ana wind-fueled Canyon fire, which also began on a weekend morning.

This time around, firefighters were already staged in high fire danger areas in anticipation of strong offshore winds, coupled with extremely low humidity.

But crews were helpless to stop the towering, wind-whipped flames from destroying roughly 49 homes, many of them worth millions of dollars, which were gutted by about 7 a.m., when the fire had swallowed about 2,200 acres.

About noon, the wind switched direction and began blowing from the ocean to the northeast, causing a flare-up into Puerco Canyon and in the hills above Pepperdine, which was sparely populated due to the Thanksgiving weekend.

Pepperdine spokeswoman Eileen Wong said about 100 students were relocated from their residences to a campus center, but there were no plans to evacuate the Malibu campus as of mid-afternoon.

A firefighter suffered what were described as minor burns to his face this morning, and six other crew members subsequently sustained minor injuries, including smoke inhalation, fire officials said.

No civilian injuries were reported as of late afternoon.

Freeman earlier said five homes were destroyed in Latigo Canyon, along with 15 in the Malibu Bowl area off Corral Canyon Road, and 10 or 15 houses in the nearby Sea Breeze tract in an area called El Nido.

Later in the day, fire inspectors went back and found more burned structures, he said.

By 3:30 p.m., the winds had shifted, and aerial firefighting efforts were being concentrated on a huge column of fire about four miles northwest of Pepperdine University, heading east.

Fire strike teams that had been stationed to protect Paradise Cove were rushed east to protect multimillion-dollar estates -- some owned by celebrities such as Don Henley of the Eagles, director James Cameron and Cher -- along Pacific Coast Highway at Puerco Canyon.

About 1,700 personnel on the ground were being aided by about two dozen firefighting aircraft, including two SuperScooper airplanes and a DC-10 carrying Phoschek fire retardant, which began making drops about 9 a.m.

The blaze is the third major wildfire to break out in the Malibu area this year. The wildfire that broke out Oct. 21 was tentatively blamed by county firefighters on a power pole that toppled in hurricane-force winds on Malibu Canyon Road.

When Sheriff Lee Baca took the podium to address reporters, he was confronted by a Corral Canyon resident who said she and others have complained about frequent beer bashes and illegal campfires by partying teenagers in that area.

She said she'd been unable to get park rangers or deputies into the isolated area to put an end to the activity. Baca said he would look into her complaint.

Another resident said rave parties had been held there in the past.

"I think they have raves and stuff," resident Sam Craven said. "I've seen speakers up there, big setups. I don't know how they get away with it. I've seen many cars parked up there at night.'

Craven said he used to hang out there himself but feels the partying has gotten out of control at the scenic lookout point.

"It used to be OK when it was just people going up there to look at the view," he said. "But I don't know, kids come up and they spray-paint and you always see the remains of fires they light in the little caves."

Evacuation orders were in effect for many Malibu residents from Malibu Canyon Road on the east to Trancas Canyon Road on the west.

However, the evacuation area was later scaled back to an area north of PCH, west of Pepperdine and East of Kanan-Dume, and residents of Paradise Cove and Point Dume were allowed to return to their homes.

Northbound Pacific Coast Highway was closed at Malibu Canyon Road.

Southbound PCH was closed to everyone except residents at Trancas Canyon Road and closed to everyone at Kanan-Dume Road.

Kanan-Dume was closed between PCH and Mulholland Highway, and roadblocks were set up on some back country roads in the area.

Law enforcement officers were also patrolling the area to deter looters.

Jennings said he did not know when all evacuation orders would be lifted.

"I wouldn't count on coming back today or coming back tomorrow," he said.

The American Red Cross set up evacuation centers at Agoura High School, 28545 W. Driver Ave., and Channel Islands High School in Oxnard. But many residents apparently went elsewhere -- possibly to the homes of friends of relatives.

Longtime resident Linda Thompson, an actress and songwriter who's lived in the area for 27 years, said the fire claimed her elderly neighbor's home, but her residence escaped major damage.

"She's (the neighbor) been there 35 years. It's never been that close and obviously that threatening, but it's just devastating," Thompson said. "There's several homes on Sycamore Meadow Drive that are gone, but thank God, I believe my main house is intact and most of the guest house" which is where she had a recording studio.

The tour manager of Red Hot Chili Peppers told KNX Newsradio that a home owned by band member "Flea," whose real name is Michael Balzary, burned to the ground.

In a text message, Balzary said his home had "burned to a crisp," according to the Los Angeles Times.

The musician had rented out the 2,700-square-foot residence, which he had listed for sale at $10.5 million.

He purchased the home for $10 million last year, The Times reported.

About 1,300 customers were without power in the Malibu area, mainly in the area of Corral Canyon and Lookout Road, according to a Southern California Edison representative.

"The· should plan that there won't be any power overnight," SCE's Gil Alexander said, noting that crews would begin making repairs as soon as they are allowed in the burn areas.

The inferno that roared out of Malibu Canyon last month hop-scotched its way to the beach, destroying a socialite's castle, the Malibu Presbyterian Church, three beachfront homes and a handful of businesses in the Malibu Colony shopping center.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger noted that the state of emergency he declared last month remains in effect, "so no time (was) wasted in providing any needed resources" to fight the blaze or aid impacted residents.

The state Office of Emergency Services' operations centers in Los Alamitos and Sacramento remain activated to support requests for assistance from Los Angeles County, he said.

(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)