Bryson fire in Malibu grows to about 200 acres
Several brush fires fanned by hot, dry Santa Ana winds broke out across Southern California on Thursday and into Friday morning, forcing evacuations and leaving tens of thousands of people without power.
More than 285 firefighters battled the Bryson fire overnight in the Santa Monica Mountains above Malibu, where the blaze grew to about 200 acres (81 hectares). The fire threatened a Los Angeles County juvenile detention and rehabilitative facility, and fire officials planned to give a further update Friday morning. A large cloud of black smoke over the hilltops was visible on nearby cameras and from miles away.
Wind gusts of up to 30 mph (48 km/h) were reported early Friday and were forecast to increase, according to the National Weather Service. With humidity levels dropping, “this will favor a critical fire weather threat,” the service said.
The wind-driven fire in Azusa, in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains north of Los Angeles, burned more than 40 acres (16 hectares) on Thursday and briefly prompted evacuation orders for a neighborhood before forward progress on the blaze was stopped.
At Camp Pendleton, the large military base north of San Diego, evacuation orders were issued for the Las Flores area of the base on Thursday afternoon but lifted by evening, military officials said in a statement.
Dry, warm and gusty northeast winds known as Santa Anas — which blow from the interior of southern California toward the coast and offshore — were forecast across the southern part of the state, with the strongest winds expected through Friday afternoon. “It’s a pretty widespread event of elevated fire weather, so the whole SoCal region should really be on alert,” Rose Schoenfeld, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, said.
Because some of California’s worst wildfires in recent years have been sparked by power equipment, utilities proactively cut electricity to more than 150,000 customers across the state as a precaution.
In Los Angeles, Mayor Karen Bass — who faced criticism for her city’s response to deadly fires in 2025 — directed the fire department to deploy personnel and equipment ahead of the winds. The department also requested assistance from the state’s office of emergency services. In January 2025, fires in the Palisades and Altadena neighborhoods, fanned by Santa Ana winds, killed more than 30 people and destroyed thousands of homes.
Schoenfeld said the current Santa Ana event is not expected to match the 2025 fires, when winds were gusting 60 mph to 100 mph (96 km/h to 160 km/h).