Malibu Wildfire Losses Now Set at $14.5 Million

• Firefighting and Other Costs for the Oct. 21 Canyon Fire Are Still Being Tallied

BY HANS LAETZ

Los Angeles County fire investigators this week released the estimated total value of structural damage from the Oct. 21 Canyon Fire that swept into the city from dropped power lines in Malibu Canyon, but said any final determination on responsibility for the blaze may take months.

Officials said losses to homes, utilities and businesses totalled $14.5 million, not counting contents. Several buildings lost to flames, such as the landmark castle in Malibu Knolls, reportedly contained furnishings and collectibles worth millions of dollars.

Firefighting cost estimates have varied, but are now tallied at $5.2 million, said Los Angeles County Fire’s Maria Grycan, the department’s community services representative for Malibu.

State and county fire arson investigators continue to probe power poles that snapped in Malibu Canyon during hurricane-force winds, sparking the blaze. Fire crews on the scene at the time of the collapse said the poles snapped just north of the Sheriff’s Honor Ranch monument, about a half mile south of the tunnel.

A similar failure several miles to the north in 1996 caused a brushfire that burned from Calabasas to Latigo Canyon in a half day, trapping and burning six firefighters. State officials opened a criminal probe into the Southern California Edison Company over the condition of power line supports, and raided corporate offices in the San Gabriel Valley in 1997 in connection with that fire.

Edison pledges full cooperation this time, and has stated that the 100 mph gusts in the canyon that Sunday morning were more than any power pole is designed to withstand.