3,700 return after Malibu fire, but 'a lot of work' ahead, fire official says

Cooler weather helped California firefighters make good progress on a wildfire that erupted in scenic Malibu, and more than 3,000 residents have been allowed to return home by Thursday, officials said.

The Franklin Fire, which has burned more than 4,000 acres and destroyed some homes, was 30% contained Thursday night, fire officials said.

“We’ve had a lot of success on the incident over the last couple of days,” Dusty Martin, one of the fire incident commanders, said at a briefing Thursday.

Martin said that around 3,700 residents have been allowed to return, which he called "a big win."

The fire broke out near a tunnel in Malibu Canyon Monday and it was exposed to high winds that fueled very aggressive growth and spread, Los Angeles County Fire Assistant Chief Drew Smith, operations section chief for Franklin Fire, said.

Actor Dick Van Dyke and musician Cher left their homes, and the fire at one point came close to Pepperdine University's picturesque coastal campus.

Los Angeles County firefighters put out hot spots in Malibu, Calif., on Wednesday. Mario Tama / Getty Images

Some roads were reopened to residents as officials allow people to return to some areas.

Around 1,600 residents remained under an evacuation order Thursday night, Los Angeles sheriff’s Capt. Jennifer Seetoo said

Six residential structures have been destroyed and another one was damaged, the county fire department said. Other minor structures have also been destroyed and damaged.

More than 1,700 firefighting personnel and 16 helicopters were assigned to the fire Thursday. Firefighters have been seen dropping water and pink fire retardant by plane over the brush-covered Santa Monica Mountains.

Movie legend Dick Van Dyke, who turns 99 Friday, described seeing the fire approach.

“It was coming from over the hill, you could see it, and oh, my God, we got out of here,” he said.

The actor shared video from his doorbell camera showing the moment he evacuated with his wife, Arlene, and their pets. Van Dyke explained that he was struggling to put out a small fire on his property, when quick-thinking neighbors came to his aid.

“I was trying to crawl to the car. I had exhausted myself. I couldn’t get up," he recalled. “Three neighbors came and carried me out and came back and put out a little fire in the guest house and saved me.”

Newlyweds Michelle and Blake Geffen, who only recently moved into a home in the Serra Retreat Community in Malibu, had evacuated Monday, leaving with just their cat, passports and other important belongings. 

“We heard screaming in our neighborhood. And we just knew something was off. And we got a call from our landlord and he just said, ‘Hey, there’s a fire, you need to go,’” Michelle Geffen told NBC Los Angeles. “We looked behind us and we could just see orange burning.”

They found out from news coverage that their rental home and all their belongings were destroyed in the fire.

Los Angeles County firefighters at a home destroyed in the Franklin Fire in Malibu, Calif., on Wednesday. Mario Tama / Getty Images

At Pepperdine University, a shelter-in-place protocol for the Malibu campus was lifted Wednesday and power was restored to the campus. It came after students had hunkered down on campus earlier this week as bright orange flames burned perilously close to the university.

The Franklin Fire exploded as the region was under red flag warnings and under a rarely issued "particularly dangerous situation" red flag warning earlier this week. Red flag warnings are issued when there are strong wind gusts, extremely dry vegetation and low humidity, making conditions ripe for fire ignition and rapid spread.

The cooler weather has allowed firefighters to go deeper into fire areas and mop up, Smith, the assistant fire chief, said. The better weather included some light rain Thursday.

"But we know with the steep, rugged topography there's areas that are going to be very challenging," he said.

On the ground is Los Angeles County’s newly formed Community Fire Brigade, which is made of up about 45 volunteers.

“Yes, we may be putting water on fire. For me, the real impactful work is being advocates for our community to be better fire adaptive,” Keegan Gibbs, director of operations for the L.A. County Community Fire Brigade, told NBC Los Angeles.

Gibbs said the opportunity to be part of the brigade and undergo training empowers community members who have suffered loss in previous unforgiving fires.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

While there has been progress, the fire is not over, Martin, the incident commander said. He said firefighters are working diligently to make sure it is safe for everyone to return home.

"The work is not done, and we have a lot of work ahead of us," Martin said.