[symple_googlemap title=”” location=”19400 Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu, CA” height=”300″ zoom=”13″]
Updated at 4:38 p.m. on March 13, 2015
Fire crews contended with unseasonably warm weather Friday as they worked to corral a slow-moving brush fire that had scorched about nine acres in Malibu as of mid-afternoon, but was not threatening any structures.
Firefighters were sent to the 19400 block of Pacific Coast Highway about 11:40 a.m. By 3 p.m. the fire was 80 percent contained, said Inspector Chris Reade of the Los Angeles County Fire Department.
No evacuations were ordered as a result of the fire, which was burning in a remote area of thick brush, Reade said. Temperatures in the area were in low-90s and although winds were mostly light, there were gusts up to 20 mph, he said.
Firefighters using hand tools and supported by water-dropping helicopters hiked into the area and created a small fire break, Reade said.
PCH was closed near Topanga Canyon Boulevard as a precaution for about two hours and reopened about 2:30 p.m., the sheriff’s department reported.
Los Angeles city fire units assisted in fighting the blaze and began leaving the scene about 3 p.m., Reade said.
— Staff and Wire Reports.