Franklin fire evacuees share their stories as blaze rages in Malibu

It has been what Malibu Mayor Doug Stewart calls a “traumatic 20 hours for the city” as the Franklin fire continues to rage in and around the coastal area.

Residents who lived through the inferno that began Monday night would likely agree, sharing Tuesday about their experiences fleeing the area.

Tuesday afternoon, the acrid smell of burning wood lingered heavily in the air, while the sky remained tinted with hues of red and pink from the fire. Debris littered the roads, serving as stark reminders of the chaos that unfolded overnight.

Alec Gellis, a Malibu resident who lives near Serra Road, described the fire as like “being inside a match” or having “blowtorches all around you. … (Once) it ignites, you’re fully in it.”

He said his friends and family stayed up all Monday night, helping to save a neighbor’s house.

“We’re basically just holding down the canyon,” he said. “The fire was completely surrounding all of us and the community. The people that stayed really got together.

“It’s a miracle that not more damage happened, because the fire was extremely intense,” he added.

Suzy Delaplane, a 30-year local, was preparing to evacuate with her two golden retrievers.

“It’s part of living in Malibu — floods, fires,” she said. “We just try to be prepared. … As long as you get the horses out, the dogs out, the people out … it’s all good.”

Tyler Lenczuk first learned about the fire when his wife abruptly woke him up around 11 p.m. Monday.

“I stepped outside, I looked out the window, and it was really, really ominous, really scary,” he said. “Huge red clouds with helicopters really low.”

Still wearing pink pajama pants, he rolled out of bed and turned to his family and said: “We have to get the hell out of here, like right now.”

And they did.

The family quickly packed up its car and drove away.

Tuesday, Lenczuk, still wearing the pink pajamas pants, returned to check on their home and on their neighbors’ homes. It appears all of the homes in the area would be OK.

He moved to California about a year and a half ago and has never seen a fire like this before.

“This is insanity,” he said, shaking his head.

Matt Greenberg, an eight-year resident of the area, was inspecting his friend’s house Tuesday afternoon. His friend, the homeowner, had initially planned to stay behind but fled in a hurry with his partner and young child as the fire advanced. While the main house remained untouched, a guest house on the property was destroyed by the flames, Greenberg said.

Near the house’s pool, a child’s goggles lay discarded alongside other personal belongings, a poignant sign of the family’s rushed evacuation.

Greenberg’s own home, located a few miles away, was unharmed, but he had spent much of the day driving through the area, extinguishing small fires and checking on his neighbors’ properties.

“There’s been a few (homes) that have been burned completely,” he said. “But it’s hard to say for sure, there’s definitely at least three or four that went down.”

Capt. Marcos Espiritu of LA County Fire Department Engine 96 said his crew had been battling the flames in the area since midnight Monday.

Despite the destruction, Espiritu noted that there were no reported injuries.

When the crew first got to the area late Monday night, “it was very chaotic,” he said. “And you can see the flames and the smoke at night, it’s pretty intimidating.”

As of Tuesday afternoon, the fire in the immediate area had been suppressed.

“Fortunately, we don’t have the winds blowing here,” Espiritu said. “That is a big relief for us.”

Yet, smoke continued to billow from the hills, and charred debris remained scattered across the ground. The fire also disrupted wildlife; Espiritu’s crew reported spotting a mountain lion cub emerging from its den, along with hummingbirds darting anxiously through the smoky air.

As the fire swelled to 3,049 acres by Tuesday night, fire personnel and area law enforcement and leaders spoke about the status of the blaze, which continued to burn as Red Flag warnings stayed in place.

“We don’t want to see anyone lose their home, but we really don’t want to see anyone lose their lives,” LA County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone said during a news conference Tuesday night.

He says his crews are focused on structure defense and perimeter control, alongside crews brought in from areas like Orange and Ventura counties.

“The entire fire area remains under threat as long as the current Red Flag warnings persist,” Marrone said. He noted that high winds and low humidity levels will continue in the area, making it difficult for crews to continue their fight against this “stubborn fire.”

County Supervisor Lindsay Horvath spoke of her admiration for the over 1,000 first responders who have been working to keep Malibu and Topanga Canyon safe as the blaze continues. Horvath said she spoke with Gov. Gavin Newsom, who authorized Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) funds to be allocated to fire support services earlier on Tuesday.

Capt. Jennifer Seetoo of the Malibu/Lost Hills Sheriff’s Station assured the public that law enforcement is maintaining a security presence in evacuated areas, where homes are often empty.

“We will not tolerate anyone coming to this community to revictimize our community members,” she said.

Though Red Flag warnings are in place through Wednesday and winds are expected to continue, Chief Marrone said his crews hope to have some containment (the perimeter of a fire that is not expected to grow due to natural stopping points such as water of firefighting work) by Wednesday morning.

With temperatures dropping and humidity rising as night falls, there are some advantages for firefighters, who planned to work through the night, but there were  no guarantees.

 

Staff writers Sydney Barragan, Linh Tat and Nathaniel Percy contributed to this report.