Wind-Driven Fires Force Malibu Evacuations as Utilities Cut Power to Tens of Thousands in Southern California

MALIBU, Calif., Oct. 16 (TodayViralUSA) — Firefighters battled wind-driven brush fires across Southern California on Friday as a Santa Ana wind event reached its peak, forcing evacuations in western Malibu and leaving tens of thousands of homes and businesses without electricity after utilities cut power to keep their lines from sparking new blazes.

The largest threat to populated areas came from the Bryson Fire, which broke out shortly before 5 p.m. Thursday near Mulholland Highway and Encinal Canyon Road in the Santa Monica Mountains, close to the Ventura County line, according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department. Crews initially estimated it at about 200 acres overnight; by Friday morning, better mapping put it at roughly 147 acres with 17% containment.

Evacuations in western Malibu

Authorities ordered residents of the Encinal Canyon area near Trancas Canyon to leave, and placed a broader stretch of coastline, from near Malibu Road and Pacific Coast Highway west to Leo Carrillo State Beach and including Zuma Beach, under an evacuation warning. The county probation department moved 38 young people from Campus Vernon Kilpatrick, a juvenile facility in the fire’s path, to a juvenile hall in Sylmar.

Officials said no structures had been lost and no injuries had been reported as of Friday morning. The cause of the fire was not known. The Red Cross opened a shelter at Agoura High School, and animal shelters in Agoura Hills and Woodland Hills took in pets and livestock.

“It’s really windy, and it’s really scary to see this happening again so close to the house,” evacuee Susan Booker, who lost her home in the 2018 Woolsey Fire, told NBC Los Angeles.

Elsewhere, the Henderson Fire burned more than 1,400 acres at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton in San Diego County on Thursday and briefly shut down Interstate 5, the Los Angeles Times reported. A separate fire prompted evacuation orders in Azusa, in the San Gabriel Valley north of Los Angeles, according to the Associated Press.

Power shut off to tens of thousands

Southern California Edison began precautionary shutoffs in central and western Malibu on Thursday afternoon. By 7 a.m. Friday, nearly 70,000 of its customers were in the dark, split almost evenly between Los Angeles and Ventura counties, and the utility said more than 209,000 additional customers could lose power before the wind event ends. Outage trackers counted more than 150,000 customers without electricity across Northern, Central and Southern California.

California utilities have leaned increasingly on such shutoffs during hot, dry and windy weather, because power equipment has been tied to some of the state’s most destructive wildfires.

Winds peak Friday

The National Weather Service said Friday would be the peak of the event, with gusts of 50 to 70 mph possible in parts of Ventura and Los Angeles counties through late morning or early afternoon before gradually easing. A red flag warning for critical fire weather remains in effect for much of both counties until 8 p.m. Saturday.

“We know how quickly these conditions can turn dangerous, and we know that preparation saves lives,” Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger said, urging households to act on the warning.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said city fire officials had pre-positioned crews and equipment in high-risk areas including the San Fernando Valley, the Santa Monica Mountains and Hollywood. The county fire department added about 100 personnel to its on-duty ranks, and the governor’s Office of Emergency Services sent additional crews to the region.

The staging effort comes after reviews of the January 2025 firestorm faulted the Los Angeles Fire Department for failing to pre-deploy engines to Pacific Palisades despite forecasts of extreme fire weather. Thursday’s alert was one level below the rare “particularly dangerous situation” warning issued before the Palisades Fire.