All Malibuites know what happened a week ago Sunday, Oct. 21, in the morning when the Castle Kashan and the Presbyterian Church along with five houses burned with several others damaged and the Colony Plaza stores severely hit. But Sunday afternoon was the key turning point in the Battle of Malibu. During the day the fire slowly and miraculously spread east toward Carbon Mesa without destroying any more homes or businesses.
By mid afternoon it spread into a deep canyon fronting the properties of three movie and TV stars and one of Malibu’s oldest families on the western boundary of Carbon Mesa. Then the air show began. Dozens of helicopters and fixed wings literally bombed the fire into submission with massive amounts of water and foam. I have never seen anything quite so spectacular. As backup, at least six fire trucks waited to mop up the last few hot spots.
This rather heroic action caused the fire to take a northerly course behind Carbon Mesa and behind La Costa. If it were not for the great air coverage and the ground crews, who knows how many homes might have been lost on Carbon and in La Costa and Las Flores. This was the LA County’s and other fire department’s finest hour. Congratulations to all
Rich Davi