Fire danger diminishes in Southern California even as crews continue to battle Malibu blaze

MALIBU, Calif. (AP) — Weather conditions improved enough in Southern California for forecasters to say Wednesday that high fire danger had diminished significantly as crews struggled to contain a wind-driven blaze that forced thousands of people, including celebrities like Cher and Dick Van Dyke, from their homes in Malibu.

With much of the coastal city under evacuation orders and warnings, residents waited anxiously to see whether their properties had been spared by the fire, which erupted late Monday and grew to more than 6 square miles (16 square kilometers). The blaze, dubbed the Franklin Fire, was just 7% contained.

The National Weather Service said the week's strongest Santa Ana winds, with gusts that reached 40 mph (64 kph), have passed. Forecasters said that all red flag warnings, which indicate conditions for high fire danger and Santa Ana winds, were discontinued.

Santa Anas are notorious seasonal winds are withering, dry gusts that sweep out of the interior toward the coast, pushing back moist ocean breezes.

Much of the devastation occurred in Malibu, a community of about 10,000 people on the western edge of Los Angeles known for its stunning bluffs and Zuma Beach, which features in many Hollywood films. Flames burned near horse farms, celebrities’ seaside mansions, and Pepperdine University, where students were forced to shelter in place on campus for a second night Tuesday.

Faculty members are determining how best to complete the semester, which ends at Pepperdine this week. Final exams were postponed or canceled, depending on the class, university spokesperson Michael Friel said. An early analysis showed little to no damage to structures on campus, the university said.

It’s unclear how the blaze started. Officials said seven structures had been destroyed and nine others had been damaged.

Lonnie Vidaurri’s four-bedroom home in the Malibu Knolls neighborhood is one of the seven destroyed. After evacuating to a hotel in Santa Monica with his wife and two young daughters, a neighbor called to tell Vidaurri that firefighters would need to break into his house.

“It’s pretty torched all around,” said Vidaurri, 53. He expects that the family’s pet bunnies did not survive the fire, and that they lost most of their things. “My girls cried, obviously, but it could have been worse.”

Mimi Teller, a Red Cross spokesperson who worked in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood, said many people arrived in their pajamas and were “definitely in shock.”

“Nobody even had a backpack, it was ‘Get out now,’” Teller said. “One lady didn’t even have a leash for her dog, she just scooped them up.”

Shawn Smith said he was asleep early Tuesday when someone knocked on his RV to wake him up to evacuate the Malibu RV Park around 3 a.m.

“You could see the fires rolling in, in over the canyon. It was like ‘Holy crap, this is real,'” he said.

He returned Wednesday to find that the RV park had been saved — firefighters stopped the flames just before they entered the area.

“We got lucky,” he said.

Van Dyke, one of many celebrities with homes in Malibu, said in a Facebook post that he and his wife, Arlene Silver, evacuated as the fire swept in. Although the couple and most of their animals evacuated safely, one of their cats, Bobo, escaped as they were leaving. “We’re praying he’ll be OK and that our community in Serra Retreat will survive these terrible fires," he wrote.

Cher evacuated from her Malibu home when ordered and is staying at a hotel, her publicist, Liz Rosenberg, said Tuesday.

The fire erupted shortly before 11 p.m. Monday and swiftly moved south, jumping over the famous Pacific Coast Highway and extending all the way to the ocean.

Alec Gellis, 31, stayed behind Monday night to save his home in Malibu’s Serra Retreat neighborhood from the flames. He used pumps in the home’s swimming pool to help spray water over the house and surrounding vegetation, turning the lush area “into a rainforest.”

Gellis said there were flames within 5 feet (1.5 meters) of the home on all sides. “The whole canyon was completely lit up.”

Utilities preemptively shut off power to tens of thousands of homes and businesses, starting Monday night, to mitigate the impacts of the Santa Ana winds, whose strong gusts can damage electrical equipment and spark wildfires.

As of Wednesday afternoon, electricity was still out for roughly 600 Southern California Edison customers, and the majority of those were in Los Angeles County, said utility spokesperson Gabriela Ornelas.

“We have been making significant progress,” she said.

But outages in Malibu were not included in that figure, Ornelas said. Some 3,300 customers in the Malibu area remained without power, due to safety shutoffs and for firefighter safety. Power was first shut off to most customers in Malibu on Monday evening.

The Woolsey Fire that roared through the area in 2018, killing three people and destroying 1,600 homes, was sparked by Edison equipment. Asked Wednesday if Edison equipment was involved in the Franklin Fire, Ornelas referred all questions regarding the cause to fire officials.

This story has been corrected to show that Shawn Smith lives in an RV, not a mobile home.

Weber reported from Los Angeles and Aoun reported from San Diego. Associated Press journalists Stefanie Dazio in Los Angeles; Amy Taxin in Orange County, California; Sarah Brumfield in Washington; and Eric Thayer, Damian Dovarganes and Jaimie Ding in Malibu, California, contributed to this report.

A mountain top overlooking the Pacific Ocean is scarred after the Franklin Fire swept through Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024, in Malibu, Calif. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer)

Retardant is dropped onto the Franklin Fire Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024, in Malibu, Calif. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer)

A road signed is burned after the Franklin Fire swept through Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024, in Malibu, Calif. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer)

A road signed is burned after the Franklin Fire swept through Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024, in Malibu, Calif. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer)

Water is dropped onto the Franklin Fire by helicopter, Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024, in Malibu, Calif. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer)

A resident sifts through their fire-damage property after the Franklin Fire swept through, Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024, in Malibu, Calif. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

Burned outdoor furniture is left behind on a property after the Franklin Fire swept through, Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024, in Malibu, Calif. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

Firefighters work at a home devastated by the Franklin Fire in Malibu, Calif., Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

A resident sifts through their fire-damage property after the Franklin Fire swept through, Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024, in Malibu, Calif. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

A firefighter works at a home devastated by the Franklin Fire in Malibu, Calif., Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

A firefighter carries a water hose while tackling the Franklin Fire in Malibu, Calif., Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Two firefighters watch the Franklin Fire as it approaches a building in Malibu, Calif., Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

A firefighter watches the Franklin Fire as smoke fills the air in Malibu, Calif., Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Two firefighters are engulfed in smoke from the Franklin Fire in Malibu, Calif., Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Two firefighters put out flames while battling the Franklin Fire in Malibu, Calif., Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Vegetation around the Phillips Theme Tower at Pepperdine University is scorched by the Franklin Fire in Malibu, Calif., Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Screen writer and actress Sarah Newcome expresses her gratitude to God during sunset as a plume of smoke from the Franklin Fire rises over the ocean Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024, in Malibu, Calif. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

Malibu residents Florence Johnson and her son Brian enjoy the beach before sunset as a plume of smoke from the Franklin Fire rises over the ocean Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024, in Malibu, Calif. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

A vehicle burns during the Franklin Fire on the campus of Pepperdine University in Malibu, Calif., Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer)

Fire trucks are parked along Pacific Coast Highway as smoke from the Franklin Fire fills the air in Malibu, Calif., Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Embers fly as the Franklin Fire burns in Malibu, Calif., on Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

Firefighters protect a structure as the Franklin Fire approaches in Malibu, Calif., Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer)

The sun sets under a plume of smoke from the Franklin Fire rising over the ocean Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024, in Malibu, Calif. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

A firefighter hoses down hot spots around a fire-ravaged property after the Franklin Fire swept through Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024, in Malibu, Calif. (AP Photo/Eugene Garcia)

Students sleep on couches on the Pepperdine University campus, where a makeshift shelter was set up as the Franklin Fire closed in Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024, in Malibu, Calif. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

A firefighter sprays water on a home as it burns in the Franklin Fire in Malibu, Calif., Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Water is dropped by helicopter onto the Franklin Fire, Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024, in Malibu, Calif. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer)

Firefighters battle the Franklin Fire in Malibu, Calif., on Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

Firefighting helicopters fill their water tanks from a pond on the campus of Pepperdine University while battling the Franklin Fire on Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024. (Hans Gutknecht/The Orange County Register via AP)

Firefighters are pushed back by gusty winds while removing fuel around the faculty and staff residences at Pepperdine University as the Franklin Fire approaches in Malibu, Calif., Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

A woman evacuates a horse as the Franklin Fire burns in Malibu, Calif., on Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

The Franklin Fire sends a plume of smoke into the sky Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024, in Malibu, Calif. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer)

Embers fly in gusty winds as two Los Angeles County firefighters battle the Franklin Fire at Pepperdine University in Malibu, Calif., Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Flames erupt on a mountain as the Franklin Fire burns in Malibu, Calif., Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Firefighters battle the Franklin Fire in Malibu, Calif., on Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

Firefighters battle the Franklin Fire in Malibu, Calif., on Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

Students evacuate from Pepperdine University as the Franklin Fire burns in Malibu, Calif., on Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

A car drives past flames from the Franklin Fire at Pepperdine University in Malibu, Calif., Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer)

Firefighters battle the Franklin Fire in Malibu, Calif., Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina lawmakers on Wednesday enacted a law over the governor's veto that would diminish the powers afforded to his successor and other other Democratic statewide winners in the Nov. 5 elections.

In a 72-46 vote, the GOP-dominated House overrode Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper's veto a week after the Republican-controlled Senate voted to do the same.

Like during the Senate vote, opponents to the power-shifting bill sat in the gallery and disrupted the chambers' floor proceedings. More than 150 people gathered on the third floor — more than the House gallery could seat. They chanted “shame” as the override vote completed and continued to yell as they were escorted out.

After warning disruptors they would face arrest if they didn't quiet down and leave the building, General Assembly police arrested one woman who refused to leave, said police Chief Martin Brock, adding that she would face charges of trespassing, resisting arrest and violating building rules.

Many provisions within the 132-page law seek to diminish powers afforded to Gov.-elect Josh Stein, incoming attorney general Jeff Jackson, the next Democratic lieutenant governor and the schools superintendent. They all take office early next month. One of the most significant changes shifts the power to appoint State Board of Elections members from the governor to the state auditor, who will be a Republican next year.

For decades, the governor has selected its five members, with the governor’s party usually taking three seats. The enacted law transfers that power to the state auditor starting in spring. This in turn, means Republicans will likely hold majorities on the state board and the county election boards.

The legislation also weakens the governor’s authority to fill vacancies on the state Court of Appeals and Supreme Court and prevents the attorney general from taking legal positions contrary to the General Assembly in litigation challenging a law’s validity. Several post-election deadlines will move up under the law after Republican complaints that counties took too long to count provisional and absentee ballots, especially in light of an extremely close Supreme Court race.

The veto override took place in the final days of a lame-duck General Assembly session where Republicans hold exactly the number of seats necessary to override vetoes without help from Democrats.

That won’t be the case much longer — barring a successful election protest that would flip a race’s result — after Democrats picked up one more House seat in the general elections.

Despite ultimately succeeding in their override, House Republicans had some difficulty staying unified. Some GOP lawmakers from western North Carolina — where Hurricane Helene caused historic flooding — initially voted against the measure. But all three — Reps. Mike Clampitt, Karl Gillespie and Mark Pless — ended up voting to override the veto.

Part of the criticism levied against the bill centered on the $252 million of Helene recovery funds attached to it, most of which can’t be spent until the General Assembly acts again.

In his veto message, Cooper called the bill a sham in which Republicans used Helene and “disaster relief” in its title to mask unconstitutional political power grabs — a message repeated by House Democrats and Stein.

“It is despicable for the Republicans in the General Assembly to use folks’ incredible need for aid to cloak their political pettiness,” Stein said in a statement after the vote.

Other opponents to the bill said at a Wednesday news conference that GOP lawmakers weren’t serving western North Carolinians and instead were undermining democracy.

“Western North Carolina is not a toy to be played with. It is not an opportunity to exploit. It is not a place to be so violently disrespected,” said Sam Stites, a Transylvania County staff member from advocacy group Just Economics of Western North Carolina.

Republicans point out they had already allocated more than $900 million to Helene relief since October, with plans for more funding next session. Caldwell County Republican Rep. Destin Hall, who is expected to be the House speaker next year, further defended the bill's executive power shifts as the legislature's constitutional right.

“This body is entirely committed to helping folks in this state with storm relief,” he said. “So, in my opinion, what's happened is political football has been made out of this bill.”

It's likely the new law will be mired in litigation — just like eight years ago, after Republicans passed laws weakening Cooper’s powers just before he took office.

The House also secured for the November 2026 statewide ballot a proposed constitutional amendment to require all North Carolina voters show photo identification before voting. The constitution currently only specifies that it’s required for in-person voting. ID exceptions are afforded now and would continue with the amendment.

A demonstrator is placed under arrest after the Republican-dominated North Carolina House convened completed the override of Gov. Cooper's veto, Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024, in Raleigh, N.C. (AP Photo/Matt Kelley)

A demonstrator looks on after the Republican-dominated North Carolina House convened to complete the override of Gov. Cooper's veto, Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024, in Raleigh, N.C. (AP Photo/Matt Kelley)

A general assembly police officer escorts protestors after the Republican-dominated North Carolina House convened and completed the override of Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper's veto of a bill that aims to weaken the powers of Cooper's soon-to-be successor and other Democratic statewide winners in the Nov. 5 elections, Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024, in Raleigh, N.C. (AP Photo/Matt Kelley)

Protesters looks on as the Republican-dominated North Carolina House convened to complete the override of Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper's veto of a bill that aims to weaken the powers of Cooper's soon-to-be successor and other Democratic statewide winners in the Nov. 5 elections, Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024, in Raleigh, N.C. (AP Photo/Matt Kelley)

A protestor holds a sign as the Republican-dominated North Carolina House convened to complete the override of Gov. Cooper's veto, Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024, in Raleigh, N.C. (AP Photo/Matt Kelley)

A protester holds a sign as the Republican-dominated North Carolina House convened to complete the override of Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper's veto of a bill that aims to weaken the powers of Cooper's soon-to-be successor and other Democratic statewide winners in the Nov. 5 elections, Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024, in Raleigh, N.C. (AP Photo/Matt Kelley)

A protester reacts after the Republican-dominated North Carolina House convened to complete the override of Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper's veto of a bill that aims to weaken the powers of Cooper's soon-to-be successor and other Democratic statewide winners in the Nov. 5 elections, Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024, in Raleigh, N.C. (AP Photo/Matt Kelley)

A protestor holds a sign as the Republican-dominated North Carolina House convened to complete the override of Gov. Cooper's veto, Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024, in Raleigh, N.C. (AP Photo/Matt Kelley)