Southern Californians battered by wildfires that killed 2

By JONATHAN J. COOPER and ANDREW DALTON Associated Press

MALIBU, Calif.

Just a day ago, Arik Fultz was feeding the horses on his 40-acre ranch near Malibu.

Now, after wildfires roared through parts of Southern California, there’s nothing left of his ranch but charred remains. His family and his 52 horses survived. But two houses, two barns, three trailers and decades of accumulated possessions are gone.

“It just doesn’t feel real that it’s all gone,” he said.

Southern Californians like Fultz battered by the wildfires got to take a breath Saturday and take store of what the wildfires did to them. A lull in fierce winds that drove a pair of destructive fires allowed firefighters to make their first real progress in stopping the blazes.

But a sustained stretch of vicious winds, and the strong possibility of a new round of troubles, were set to start Sunday.

Two people were found dead amid the larger of the two fires, Los Angeles County sheriff’s Chief John Benedict said Saturday.

The severely burned bodies were discovered in a long residential driveway on a stretch of Mulholland Highway in Malibu, where most of the surrounding structures had burned.

Benedict did not have any details about the identities of the dead. He said detectives were investigating.

The deaths came as authorities in Northern California announced the death toll from a massive wildfire there has reached 23 people, bringing the statewide total to 25.

Southern California’s fire had destroyed at least 150 homes, from Malibu mansions to modest dwellings in inland canyon communities.

No growth was reported Saturday on the larger of the two fires, which had torched 109 square miles (282 square kilometers). Firefighters now have the blaze 5 percent contained. Los Angeles County Fire Chief Daryl Osby said.

Progress also came against the smaller fire, prompting Ventura County officials to allow people in a handful of communities to return to their homes.

Hundreds of thousands across the region remain under evacuation orders, and could stay that way for days as winds pick up again.

Fire burned in famously ritzy coastal spots like Malibu, where Lady Gaga, Kim Kardashian West, Guillermo del Toro and Martin Sheen were among those forced out of their homes amid a citywide evacuation order.

“It was way too big a firestorm,” said Lani Netter, whose Malibu home was spared while her neighbor’s burned. “We had tremendous, demonic winds is the only way I can put it.”

The flames also stretched into the suburb of Thousand Oaks, a city of 130,000 people that just a few days ago saw 12 people killed in a mass shooting at a country music bar.

Wildfire raged on both sides of the city still in mourning, where about three-quarters of the population are under evacuation orders that officials urged them to heed.

“We’ve had a lot of tragedy in our community,” said Ventura County Supervisor Linda Parks, whose district includes Thousand Oaks. “We don’t want any more. We do not want any more lives lost.”

At the Fultz ranch near Malibu, all of the 52 horses survived after a wild scramble to save them.

Fultz’s mother, 61-year-old Tricia Fultz, said everyone expected the fire to stay well south of their property, but shifting winds forced them to take the horses out to open pastures as quickly as they could.

Three were still in their pens when the adjacent barn caught fire, and Tricia Fultz just had to open the pens, burning her hands and hoping for the best.

She, her husband and six others rode out the fire in a tunnel a short distance up the road as the fire burned the hillsides above and all around them.

“It’s so surreal because it’s so dark, and when we’re in the tunnel you can’t see anything,” Tricia Fultz said. “There was so much burning and so much black.”

The fire hopscotched around the Oak Park neighborhood of 70-year-old Bill Bengston, leaving most houses untouched.

The home for 22 years of Bengston and his wife, Ramona, was the only house on his block that burned. And it burned everything.

“It’s all gone,” he said softly as he sifted through the remains. “It’s all gone.”

The hardest to lose were the photos and the mementos handed down through the family — a cigar box that belonged to his great-grandfather; the handcuffs his father carried in World War II.

“We’re somewhat devastated,” Bengston said. “Still a little bit numb.”

A home is spared after a wildfire swept through Saturday, Nov. 10, 2018, in Malibu, Calif.

Marcio Jose Sanchez

AP Photo

Residents Damon Webb, left, and Brendon O’neal clean up the road after the Woolsey fire burned in Malibu, Calif., Saturday, Nov. 10, 2018. Officials took advantage of temporarily calm conditions Saturday to assess damage from the blaze that’s burned 109 square miles outside downtown Los Angeles.

Ringo H.W. Chiu

AP Photo

Horses are tied to lifeguard booths on the beach in Malibu, Calif., Saturday, Nov. 10, 2018. Wildfires are burning in both Southern and Northern California.

Ringo H.W. Chiu

AP Photo

Firefighter Eric Santana, with the MRCA Fire Divison Santa Monica Mountains, looks for hot spots after a wildfire swept through Saturday, Nov. 10, 2018, in Malibu, Calif.

Marcio Jose Sanchez

AP Photo

Park Billow, 27, sprays water on the hot spots in his backyard as the Woolsey Fire burns in Malibu, Calif., Friday, Nov. 9, 2018. Authorities announced Friday that a quarter of a million people are under evacuation orders as wind-whipped flames rage through scenic areas west of Los Angeles and burn toward the sea.

Ringo H.W. Chiu

AP Photo

A firefighter keeps watch as the Woolsey Fire burns a home in Malibu, Calif., Friday, Nov. 9, 2018. A Southern California wildfire continues to burn homes as it runs toward the sea. Winds are blamed for pushing the fire through scenic canyon communities and ridgetop homes.

Ringo H.W. Chiu

AP Photo

In this Friday, Nov. 9, 2018 photo, smoke from the wildires fills the air in Malibu, Calif. Los Angeles County fire Chief Daryl Osby said Saturday that firefighters told him they were working in the toughest, most extreme conditions they had seen in their lives on Friday night. He says conditions are far better Saturday, with a lull in winds that are expected to return Sunday. (Courtesy of Ben Watkins via AP)

A Spanish-style home is consumed by flames on Dume Drive in the Point Dume area of Malibu, Calif., Friday, Nov. 9, 2018. Known as the Woolsey Fire, it has consumed tens of thousands of acres and destroyed multiple homes.

Reed Saxon

AP Photo

A firefighter walks by the a burning home in Malibu, Calif., Friday, Nov. 9, 2018. A Southern California wildfire continues to burn homes as it runs toward the sea. Winds are blamed for pushing the fire through scenic canyon communities and ridgetop homes.

Ringo H.W. Chiu

AP Photo

Wind-driven flames from a wildfire race up a slope and cross the road in Malibu, Calif., Friday, Nov. 9, 2018. Known as the Woolsey Fire, it has consumed tens of thousands of acres and destroyed multiple homes.

Reed Saxon

AP Photo

A table and chairs stand outside of one of at least 20 homes destroyed just on Windermere Drive in the Point Dume area of Malibu, Calif., Saturday, Nov. 10, 2018. Known as the Woolsey Fire, it has consumed thousands of acres and destroyed dozens of homes.

Reed Saxon

AP Photo

A swimming pool is behind one burned home, with others at left, some of at least 20 homes destroyed just on Windermere Drive in the Point Dume area of Malibu, Calif., Saturday, Nov. 10, 2018. Known as the Woolsey Fire, it has consumed tens of thousands of acres and destroyed dozens of homes.

Reed Saxon

AP Photo

Glass and plastic melted from intense heat are seen on a car on Windermere Drive in the Point Dume area of Malibu, Calif.,Saturday, Nov. 10, 2018. Known as the Woolsey fire, it has consumed thousands of acres and destroyed dozens of homes.

Reed Saxon

AP Photo

Vehicles and a home are in ruins, one of at least 20 homes that were lost on Windermere Drive in the Point Dume area of Malibu, Calif., Saturday, Nov. 10, 2018. Known as the Woolsey Fire, it has consumed tens of thousands of acres and destroyed dozens of homes.

Reed Saxon

AP Photo

A man who gave his first name as John, background, looks over the ruins of his home, one of at least 20 homes destroyed just on Windermere Drive in the Point Dume area of Malibu, Calif., Saturday, Nov. 10, 2018. Known as the Woolsey Fire, it has consumed tens of thousands of acres and destroyed dozens of homes.

Reed Saxon

AP Photo

These lawn figures of geese stand in the backyard of one of at least 20 homes destroyed just on Windermere Drive, with a burned-over slope behind them, in the Point Dume area of Malibu, Calif., aturday, Nov. 10, 2018. Known as the Woolsey Fire, it has consumed tens of thousands of acres and destroyed dozens of homes.

Reed Saxon

AP Photo

A statuary figure of a boy stands outside one of at least 20 homes destroyed just on Windermere Drive in the Point Dume area of Malibu, Calif., Saturday, Nov. 10, 2018. Known as the Woolsey Fire, it has consumed tens of thousands of acres and destroyed dozens of homes.

Reed Saxon

AP Photo

Plants that have been seared by flames are seen on Windermere Drive in the Point Dume area of Malibu, Calif., Saturday, Nov. 10, 2018. Known as the Woolsey Fire, it has consumed tens of thousands of acres and destroyed dozens of homes.

Reed Saxon

AP Photo

Capt. Adrian Murrieta with the Los Angeles County Fire Dept., looks for hot spots on a wildfire-ravaged home Saturday, Nov. 10, 2018, in Malibu, Calif. Scores of houses from ranch homes to celebrities’ mansions burned in a pair of wildfires that stretched across more than 100 square miles of Southern California, authorities said Saturday.

Marcio Jose Sanchez

AP Photo

Capt. Adrian Murrieta with the Los Angeles County Fire Dept., hoses down hot spots on a wildfire-ravaged home Saturday, Nov. 10, 2018, in Malibu, Calif. Scores of houses from ranch homes to celebrities’ mansions burned in a pair of wildfires that stretched across more than 100 square miles of Southern California, authorities said Saturday.

Marcio Jose Sanchez

AP Photo

Firefighters hose down hot spots on a wildfire-ravaged property Saturday, Nov. 10, 2018, in Malibu, Calif. Scores of houses from ranch homes to celebrities’ mansions burned in a pair of wildfires that stretched across more than 100 square miles of Southern California, authorities said Saturday.

Marcio Jose Sanchez

AP Photo

Firefighters Jason Toole, right, and Brent McGill with the Santa Barbara Fire Dept. walk among the ashes of a wildfire-ravaged home after turning off an open gas line on the property Saturday, Nov. 10, 2018, in Malibu, Calif.

Marcio Jose Sanchez

AP Photo

A Buddha statue stands among the damage caused by a wildfire at a home Saturday, Nov. 10, 2018, in Malibu, Calif. Scores of houses from ranch homes to celebrities’ mansions burned in a pair of wildfires that stretched across more than 100 square miles of Southern California, authorities said Saturday.

Marcio Jose Sanchez

AP Photo

A house which was untouched sits on a hill behind burned palm trees lining the Pacific Coast Highway which remained closed in both directions after a wildfire swept through to the area outside of Malibu, Calif. on Saturday Nov. 10, 2018. Firefighters have saved thousands of homes despite working in “extreme, tough fire conditions that they said they have never seen in their life,” Los Angeles County Fire Chief Daryl Osby said.

Richard Vogel

AP Photo

A smoldering hillside is seen in the distance behind a broken and burned telephone pole hanging along the Pacific Coast Highway outside of Malibu, Calif. on Saturday Nov. 10, 2018.

Richard Vogel

AP Photo

The remains of broken telephone poles line the Pacific Coast Highway which remained closed in both directions after a wildfire swept through to the area outside of Malibu, Calif. on Saturday Nov. 10, 2018. Firefighters have saved thousands of homes despite working in “extreme, tough fire conditions that they said they have never seen in their life,” Los Angeles County Fire Chief Daryl Osby said.

Richard Vogel

AP Photo

The charred out remains of a car that burned after a wildfire swept through along the Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu, Calif., on Saturday, Nov. 10, 2018. Firefighters have saved thousands of homes despite working in “extreme, tough fire conditions that they said they have never seen in their life,” Los Angeles County Fire Chief Daryl Osby said.

Richard Vogel

AP Photo

A Los Angeles Fire Department truck drives past burned and broken telephone poles along the coast down Pacific Coast Highway which remained closed in both directions outside of Malibu, Calif., on Saturday, Nov. 10, 2018. Firefighters have saved thousands of homes despite working in “extreme, tough fire conditions that they said they have never seen in their life,” Los Angeles County Fire Chief Daryl Osby said.

Richard Vogel

AP Photo

An iron figure stands in the yard of a home that survived, with others that did not in the background on Windermere Drive in the Point Dume area of Malibu, Calif., Saturday, Nov. 10, 2018. Known as the Woolsey Fire, it has consumed thousands of acres and destroyed dozens of homes.

Reed Saxon

AP Photo

A figure of Buddha stands outside one of at least 20 homes destroyed just on Windermere Drive in the Point Dume area of Malibu, Calif., Saturday, Nov. 10, 2018. Known as the Woolsey Fire, it has consumed thousands of acres and destroyed dozens of homes.

Reed Saxon

AP Photo

Melted recycling and trash containers stand next to one of at least 20 homes destroyed just on Windermere Drive in the Point Dume area of Malibu, Calif., Saturday, Nov. 10, 2018. Known as the Woolsey Fire, it has consumed thousands of acres and destroyed dozens of homes.

Reed Saxon

AP Photo

A wall and a window frame are all that remains one of at least 20 homes destroyed just on Windermere Drive in the Point Dume area of Malibu, Calif., Saturday, Nov. 10, 2018. Known as the Woolsey Fire, it has consumed thousands of acres and destroyed dozens of homes.

Reed Saxon

AP Photo

Flames from a broken gas line burn at one of at least 20 homes destroyed just on Windermere Drive in the Point Dume area of Malibu, Calif., Saturday, Nov. 10, 2018. Known as the Woolsey Fire, it has consumed thousands of acres and destroyed dozens of homes.

Reed Saxon

AP Photo

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