MALIBU, CALIF. — Nearly a dozen wildfires driven by powerful Santa Ana winds spread across Southern California on Sunday, killing one person near San Diego, destroying several homes and a church in celebrity-laden Malibu, and forcing hundreds from their homes.
The Malibu fire was among at least 10 blazes stretching from north of Los Angeles to San Diego as hot weather and the strong winds marked the traditional height of the wildfire season.
Four firefighters and at least 10 other people were injured and taken to hospitals in connection with the fire near San Diego, said Matt Streck, a spokesman for the California Department of Forestry.
Details on the death were not immediately available.
The blaze burned nearly 5 square miles near a highway southeast of San Diego, just north of the border town of Tecate, Streck said. Some of the injured were hikers, and others may be illegal immigrants, Streck said.
In northeastern Los Angeles County near Agua Dulce, a fire burned about 10,000 acres, or nearly 16 square miles, in just a few hours as about 250 firefighters tried to get a handle on it.
Ten buildings were destroyed, but it wasn’t clear how many were homes, said county Fire Inspector Ron Haralson. Between 500 and 800 people fled the area, and three people were injured.
Meanwhile, in Malibu, about 700 firefighters worked to protect about 200 homes in several upscale communities nestled in the hills, officials said. About 1,500 people fled the fires, officials said.
The blaze, which started in Malibu Canyon, had charred at least 1,200 acres and destroyed a church and several homes, one of them a landmark castle. No residents or firefighters were injured, Los Angeles County Fire Chief P. Michael Freeman said.
The winds carried embers across the Pacific Coast Highway, closing the popular road and setting fire to cars and trees in the parking lot of a shopping center where shops were damaged. It briefly threatened Pepperdine University.
TV footage showed several buildings in flames in the area, including clusters of beach-side homes.
“This fire is zero percent contained, which means we’re at the mercy of the wind,” acting Malibu Mayor Pamela Conley Ulich said.
The fire is expected to burn for another two to three days, Freeman said. Until the blaze is extinguished, “there will literally be thousands of homes that will be threatened at one time or another,” he said.
Fire crews early Sunday found downed power lines, which may have started the fire, Capt. Mike Brown said.
Flames consumed Castle Kashan, a stately home with turrets and arched windows, and Malibu Presbyterian Church.
Faculty and staff at the 830-acre Pepperdine campus had been urged to evacuate in the morning, and students were told to gather in the cafeteria and the basketball arena. But by early afternoon, the campus was “secure,” Freeman said.
