Thousands of firefighters are battling the Malibu fire

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Nearly 2,000 firefighters are battling a blaze in the beach community of Malibu, California. Schools are closed in the area and more than 6,000 residents have been ordered to evacuate. The residences of actor Dick Van Dyke and singer Cher are also threatened by the flames.

The Franklin Fire has been spreading since Monday burning over 1,600 hectares, including nine buildings. Firefighters are trying to keep the fire away from populated areas, but despite their best efforts some houses have suffered serious damage. The work of firefighters is also complicated by the steep terrain which prevented access to the fire northwest of Los Angeles. Firefighting work will continue here for a few more days.

Firefighters initially focused on extinguishing the fire in one of the canyons. It is here that fire-fighting aircraft have become indispensable reaching even inaccessible areas. During Wednesday they managed to limit the spread of the fires to such an extent that the warning flag which warns of the extremely fast spread of the fire was also lowered.

Malibu is home to many celebrities who own expensive properties here. Among the evacuees was legendary Hollywood actor Dick Van Dyke, who will turn 99 this year. He said on social media that he along with his wife and pets are now safe.

About 22,000 residents were threatened by the flames on Wednesday according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. Fortunately no deaths or injuries were reported. The cause of the fire remains a mystery and is being investigated by inspectors from the local fire station.

Source:Reuters/Editorial