Woolsey Fire burns to the ocean as 200,000 evacuate

Scores of homes have been destroyed

map Woolsey Fire
Map of the Woolsey Fire at 9:50 p.m. PST November 10, 2018. Click to enlarge.

(Originally published at 6:28 a.m. PST November 10, 2018)

The Woolsey Fire advanced to the Pacific Ocean Friday, spreading 15 miles south from Simi Valley to Malibu. A 15-mile long section of the coastal communities were invaded by flames, which then crossed the Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) along a five-mile stretch near the Mulholland Highway and Decker Road. An unknown number of multimillion dollar mansions and more modest homes succumbed to the fire as about 200,000 residents evacuated from 75,000 homes in Malibu, Calabasas, Agoura Hills, Oak Park, Thousand Oaks, and other areas. The Los Angeles County Fire Department PIO said at 6:52 p.m. Friday, “…very significant number of homes in the operational area damaged or destroyed by fire”, and that it had burned approximately 35,000 acres.

(To see all articles about the Woolsey Fire on Wildfire Today, including the most recent, click here.)

Woolsey fire on Malibu beach
Fire at the beach threatens structures above. KTLA.

A mapping flight Friday night at 9:50 determined that the fire had burned 89,906 acres, but it was still spreading.

There have been no confirmed reports of fatalities.

There were reports that the fire was very close to Pepperdine University in Malibu near the PCH and Las Virgenes Road, but the University tweeted at 3:34 a.m. that they were OK.

@FirePhotoGirl broadcast live video from the general area of Pepperdine at around 1:30 a.m. Saturday.


Below are maps, zoomed in, of where the Woolsey Fire reached the coastal areas, and of the northern section of the fire.

Woolsey Fire map coast Malibu
Woolsey Fire, eastern coast area, current at 9:50 p.m. November 9, 2018. Click to enlarge.
Woolsey Fire map coast Malibu
Woolsey Fire, western coast area, current at 9:50 p.m. November 9, 2018. Click to enlarge.
Woolsey Fire Map
Woolsey Fire, northern area, current at 9:50 p.m. November 9, 2018. Click to enlarge.

Typos, let us know HERE, and specify which article. Please read the commenting rules before you post a comment.

Author: Bill Gabbert

After working full time in wildland fire for 33 years, he continues to learn, and strives to be a Student of Fire.

2 thoughts on “Woolsey Fire burns to the ocean as 200,000 evacuate”

  1. I was born in the San Joaquin Valley, grew up in the SF East Bay (Fremont), went to college in Claremont, have lived in Woodland Hills, Simi Valley, and Santa Barbara, and I used to commute between Santa Barbara and El Segundo, frequently along the coast route through Malibu. I have seen large fires in all of those venues. Twice I have been up on my wood-shake roof hosing it down while the wildfires crept ever nearer (detergent in a hose-end sprayer helps get the shakes really wet, but it also makes them very slippery!). So I have been acquainted with California’s wildfires all my life (for the past 24 years vicariously, as I now live in Virginia). And I am appalled that after all these decades, the folks who are responsible for the governing of California have still permitted the forestation and grasslands areas to become such tinderboxes, and have permitted people to develop areas that are simply not defendable when the winds blow and the fires rage, putting both the residents and the firefighters at such risk. When will California put its people first?

    0
    0
  2. I hope that my cousins and my aunt and uncle are okay. I do not like wildfires. I pray that they are there safely in a shelter away from the fire.

    0
    0

Comments are closed.