ANGELS IN THE ASHES AMID DEVASTATION, THE LUCKY ONES OPEN ARMS.

Byline: Susan Abram

Staff Writer

MALIBU - Deep within Malibu's canyons, heaps of charred lumber, free-standing chimneys, and various chipped and broken bric-a-brac were all that remained Sunday of dozens of multimillion-dollar homes, destroyed in the firestorm that hopscotched through exclusive neighborhoods the day before.

But the fast-moving blaze, fueled by returning Santa Ana winds and parched brush, managed to skip Frank and Jerri Churchill's Mediterranean-style home on Lockwood Road. The couple and their four young boys returned on Sunday to see that the walls of their house remained impossibly bright and white against the mounds of soot and ash all around them.

"My wife talked to all the neighbors and told them about their houses," Frank Churchill said as he piled water and sodas into an ice chest to offer to firefighters and members of the media who needed a cool drink.

"We were considerably lucky."

The Churchills were among thousands who evacuated the firestorm that hit Malibu at 3:30a.m. Saturday. More than 14,000 residents fled as nearly 5,000acres burned.

The blaze -- called one of the worst in the past 15 years -- was about 70 percent contained Sunday night, with full containment expected today, the Los Angeles County Fire Department said. In all, the fire destroyed more than 50 structures and damaged nearly that amount, officials said.

All of this just as the community was recovering from a massive wildfire last month that charred more than 1,200acres and destroyed nine structures, including the landmark Malibu Presbyterian Church.

Arson investigators said Sunday the fire might have been started by human activity in a nearby campground. They were still investigating.

But on Lockwood Road, where some evacuees returned to homes still standing, there was sorrow for those whose houses didn't survive.

"It hasn't sunken in yet," said a somber John Shafai, who had moved to the area two years ago. "We have friends who have lost everything. I don't know what I will say to them."

The quick and unexpected evacuation was evident in the Churchills' bedroom, where indentations of their heads were still visible on the pillows where they had been asleep moments before being awakened and forced to flee their home. A child's version of a Thanksgiving turkey centerpiece, made of pipe cleaners and paper, still sat on their dining room table.

Dressed in a Halloween firefighter outfit, Frankie Churchill, 7, and his brother, Griffin, 6, explored their surroundings and pointed out smoking hot spots in distant canyons.

Standing on her balcony that overlooked destroyed homes, Jerri Churchill reminded a visitor that despite the recent spate of bad luck, Malibu residents remain resilient, even defiant, at what it is that makes them stay.

"There are deer in the meadows, hawks that fly overhead," she said.

She pointed toward Catalina Island across the Pacific, shrouded by a sepia line of hazy smoke.

"After the fires, we prayed and thanked God we were still together, but we all agreed we didn't want to leave," she said. "Even if I lived in that little toughshed over there, we'd still be living in the best place."

Most of the homes that were destroyed and damaged were in narrow Corral and Latigo canyons. Nearby Pepperdine University was not directly threatened.

Arson investigators traced the origin of the blaze to Mesa Peak Motorway, near a scenic overlook called Malibu Bowl.

Locals know it as a party scene, where young people have gathered over campfires for decades.

Two weeks ago, Malibu residents piled into the City Council chambers to express their concern with the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy's proposal to open another campground in the area.

No decision was reached, so the issue remains, which is upsetting to Patricia and Warren Allen, who live on the corner of Lockwood and Corral Canyon roads. Their home also was spared.

"They should have a gate or impose regulations after sundown," Warren Allen said. "To just leave it up to people's judgment ... I think (Los Angeles County) has to take control of the area."

Despite the fear, the anxiety, the smell of smoke that stings their noses in the middle of the night and the sudden evacuations -- and the ability to rattle off each year they have survived a brush fire with almanac precision -- Malibu residents such as the Allens and countless others say they could never leave Malibu.

The Pacific Ocean, with its shimmering blue waters that can be spotted from almost every home in the canyon, has a way of swallowing the bad memories.

"We're ocean people," Warren Allen said. "We surf. We're always near the water. Leave?

"Nah. Not a chance."

susan.abram(at)dailynews.com

818-713-3664

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4 photos

Photo:

(1 -- 2 -- color) Jerri Churchill and her family, whose Malibu home was spared from the fire, offer help to their less-fortunate neighbors Sunday on Lockwood Road. Below, at the home of the Churchills' neighbor, a statue of an angel survives unscathed, but the rest of the house is gone.

(3 -- 4) The Churchill family home, above, stands untouched Sunday in the background as a view from what used to be their neighbor's garage reveals four burned vehicles and a Harley-Davidson motorcycle. The neighbor's garage burned with the rest of the Lockwood Road home in Malibu as wind-whipped fires roared through the area Saturday and Sunday. From the Churchills' balcony, Jerri Churchill and her sons, Griffin, 6, left, and Frankie, 7, survey the damage. The fire scorched nearly 5,000acres and destroyed more than 50 homes and two dozen structures.

John Lazar/Staff Photographer