Firefighters are battling to contain a wildfire in the beach community of Malibu, California, where 6,300 people evacuated their homes as schools and businesses shut their doors.
Nearly 2,000 firefighters were tackling the Franklin Fire, which scorched more than 4,000 acres since it began on Monday and has destroyed nine buildings and damaged six others, officials said. It was 7% contained as of last night.
The steep, rugged terrain northwest of Los Angeles prevented firefighters from reaching much of the blaze, which will take several more days to contain, said Dusty Martin, assistant fire chief with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
"We saw the weather moderate, which allowed us to have a lot of success around the fire today," Mr Martin told a press conference. "It'll probably take a number of days to contain it due to the current terrain that is out there."
Firefighters concentrated efforts on one canyon where helicopters dropped water. Nearby a group stood by on a break, their faces full of crusted dust just before nightfall.
Officials lifted a red flag warning that had been in place to advise people of the extreme risk of rapid fire growth.
The exclusive town of Malibu is home to many celebrities in the secluded hills above the Pacific Ocean some 50km northwest of Los Angeles.
Among the evacuees was actor Dick Van Dyke, who turns 99 tomorrow and said on social media he and his wife evacuated safely, along with their pets - except for one called Bobo that was missing.
Some 22,000 people were affected by the fire, said Captain Jennifer Seetoo of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.
No deaths or injuries have been reported, and its cause remained under investigation, officials said.
A large part of Malibu remained without power, complicating efforts to communicate with residents still in the area.
Wildfires are a feature of life in California, and are often exacerbated at this time of year by fierce so-called Santa Ana winds that blow dry desert air from the interior.
Scientists say climate change, fuelled by humanity's unchecked burning of fossil fuels, is altering weather patterns, making dry periods longer and increasing the likelihood of destructive fires.
At the same time, decades of land management policies that stressed a zero-tolerance approach to wildfire has left much of the countryside overstocked with fuel, so when fires erupt, they tend to be hotter, faster and more dangerous.
