Malibu Wildfire Leads to Evacuations

The Corral Fire near Malibu, California in Los Angeles County has led to the evacuation of more than 100 homes, and burned hundreds of acres, according to press reports and the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. It started just after 3 a.m. PT Saturday.

The Santa Ana "Devil Winds," which ignited fires that burned hundreds of thousands of acres last month, whipped up again late this week and are blamed for creating conditions conducive to wildfire. The hot, dry winds -- though not as intense or over-heated as last month -- pick up where a persistent drought and a landscape prone to fire leave off.

The destructiveness of the fire -- homes have been shown burning on cable TV -- is a product of those two natural conditions and a third, human dimension: Suburban sprawl. Increasingly, homes are being built in areas formerly left to wilderness. When those wilderness areas are fire-prone landscapes, the stage has been set even before the "right" weather conditions arrive.

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