1 month ago
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Dec. 10, 2024Updated 5:31 p.m. ET
A wildfire in Malibu, Calif., was burning along the Pacific coastline near Los Angeles on Tuesday, forcing evacuations and burning more than 2,200 acres overnight, according to California fire officials.
The blaze broke out in an area notorious for fast-spreading wildfires, where the dangerous Santa Ana winds meet the scrub-filled canyons of the Santa Monica Mountains. It has since spread to burn thousands of acres and is threatening populated areas near the Pacific coast.
Calif.
00:51 a.m.
Note: Shapes show reported extent of fire, denoted in local Pacific Time
Source: Cal Fire
Areas around Malibu were under evacuation orders, and evacuation warnings — alerts issued in areas of potential danger for people who might need more time to leave — were also in place. As many as 18,000 people and 8,000 structures were affected, according to public officials.
By early Tuesday morning, smoke had caused the air quality to worsen in nearby cities to levels unhealthy for some. The air quality had improved in many of those locations later in the day.
Smoke from the fire was largely headed west over the Pacific Ocean, but was also expected to spread over Los Angeles later in the day.
Leanne Abraham is a graphics editor at The Times with a focus on cartography and data visualization. She holds a master’s degree in cartography and geographic information systems from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. More about Leanne Abraham
Madison Dong is a graphics and multimedia editor on The Times’s weather team. She previously built interactive digital stories and created data visualizations for Axios and The Washington Post. More about Madison Dong
John Keefe leads The Times’s Weather Data team, which helps readers understand extreme weather events. More about John Keefe
