Wildfire Rages Through Malibu; 200 Homes Destroyed

MALIBU, Calif. - Savage winds sent waves of fire raging over canyon ranches and seaside mansions in this celebrity hideaway, claiming 200 homes and forcing thousands to load up their Jaguars and Jeeps and crowd onto gridlocked highways.

Yesterday's siege marked the second time in a week that firestorms have gutted whole Southern California neighborhoods. The week's toll rose to more than 200,000 acres of land scorched and 1,000 homes destroyed.

British screenwriter-director Duncan Gibbins and carpenter Ron Mass were in extremely critical condition after suffering burns in a fire on Gibbins' Topanga Canyon property.

Flame-topped palm trees dotted the heavy smoke as the fire raced out of control from Santa Monica Mountain canyons 12 miles inland, to the Pacific Ocean.

"It just came thundering down. By the time I left, it looked like `Apocalypse Now,' " said writer Richard Christian Matheson, who fled from his burning house.

Deborah Carpentier, barefoot, her face streaked with soot, stood at the water's edge clutching her 18-month-old son as the hillside above her blazed a bright crimson in the night.

"I had him wrapped up in a wet towel. He was screaming," she said. "We stood on the beach and watched our house burn."

The Malibu fire erupted as hot, dry Santa Ana winds gusting at speeds as great as 53 mph returned to Southern California.

More than 3,000 firefighters battled the blaze overnight in the mile-wide city of 15,000 that winds along 27 beachfront miles.

Just off the beach, a Coast Guard cutter waited to evacuate people by sea if necessary. Firefighters perched atop lifeguard towers to monitor the blaze.

Chaos reigned at roadblocks along usually scenic Pacific Coast Highway. People trying to get out vied for road space with drivers scrambling home after learning of the fire. Frantic, some abandoned their cars, trapping firetrucks in massive traffic jams.

Today, evacuees filled hotels in neighboring beach communities and stood on balconies, parks and piers to watch the flames and wonder about what they left behind.

About 130 sheriff's and highway police officers patrolled empty Malibu streets to guard against looting.

The cause of the Malibu fire, which created a billowing cloud of reddish-brown smoke visible 60 miles east, remained under investigation.

Residents of Malibu Colony - a private beachfront enclave of multimillion dollar homes owned by such stars as Sting, Bob Newhart, Burgess Meredith and Larry Hagman - were ordered to leave, said fire Deputy Benita Hinojos.

Screenwriter Gibbins, 41, was burned when he went back into his burning guest house trying to save a cat. Both Gibbins and Mass, a 40-year-old carpenter, were in critical condition at Sherman Oaks Hospital and Health Center with burns, said hospital spokesman Larry Weinberg. Gibbins was breathing with a respirator.

Three California Department of Forestry firefighters also sustained burns while battling the blaze in the steep canyons of the Santa Monica Mountains.

Elsewhere across Southern California, several other fires erupted yesterday and roared through brittle brushland, just days after firestorms torched more than 800 buildings and burned thousands of acres. A total of 17 people were injured.

Fire threatened Pepperdine University and Hughes Research Laboratories late yesterday as firefighters ran out of water.

University spokesman Jeff Bliss said about 500 students and staff members remained sheltered in a campus gymnasium.

In Riverside County, about 80 miles east of Los Angeles, a 7,500-acre wildfire forced hundreds of residents to flee.

At least six people were injured there and 17 homes and other buildings were damaged or destroyed.

Firefighters also battled a 1,500-acre wildfire in northern San Diego County, as well as fires in San Bernardino County near Yucaipa, 60 miles east of Los Angeles. A 100-acre fire was contained near the city of Riverside.