MALIBU ON FIRE FOUR MULTIMILLION-DOLLAR SEASIDE HOMES GO UP IN FLAMES PCH CLOSED AS HOT SPOTS STILL REMAIN.

Byline: SUSAN ABRAM and RICK COCA Staff Writers

MALIBU -- A fire whipped by hot Santa Ana winds torched at least four seaside estates Monday and scorched 20 acres in the exclusive Malibu beach community.

About 300 firefighters battled the blaze Monday night as it threatened more homes and forced the closure of Pacific Coast Highway, a critical commuter line. The fire broke out about 5 p.m. near PCH and winds in excess of 20 mph drove it south toward the ocean.

Within minutes, the blaze had broken up into a number of separate hot spots along Malibu Road, about a mile south of Pepperdine University. Fire hopped from home to home, destroying at least four and damaging two others.

``Unfortunately, the homes in that area are very close together,'' said Malibu City Councilwoman Pamela Conley Ulich, who stopped at the Michael Landon Community Center when she spotted the flames. ``We're praying that this is going to pass. It's a catastrophe right now.''

Flames burned furiously out of the skeletal remnants of beachfront properties as palm trees bent in winds blowing at 21 mph.

Firefighters said some homeowners were evacuated but that many Malibu residents, long accustomed to brush fires, remained to hose down their multimillion-dollar properties.

No injuries were reported.

``We have a line completely around the fire and we're working our way into the center where the structures are burning,'' said Los Angeles County Fire Department Inspector Ed Lozano.

Fortunately for firefighters, winds were blowing south toward the Pacific Ocean and not north, into the brushy hillsides where residents have built homes with stunning ocean views.

L.A. County fire Inspector Ron Haralson said firefighters on the ground were coordinating with helicopter crews to make strategic water drops of up to 1,000 gallons each.

Malibu has frequently been the scene of devastating fires, its steep, brushy canyons funneling winds into luxurious neighborhoods where Pacific views draw movie stars and millionaires. In 1993, hundreds of homes were lost and three people were killed in an 18,500-acre fire. A 1996 fire spread over 13,900 acres, injured 11 people and destroyed six homes.

``It's so windy out there, it's kind of scary,'' said Roberto Cardenas, an employee at Coogies Beach Cafe on Malibu Road.

In addition to fires, Malibu residents have had to contend with other forces of Mother Nature, including perilous landslides and pounding waves smashing against their seaside homes.

David Zimmerman, a 13-year Malibu resident, knows all too well the dangers that exist in this land of paradise.

``The last fire in '96 got put out 100 feet from my house,'' Zimmerman said at a roadblock on Las Virgenes Road and Mulholland Drive.

``And I stayed and helped them put it out.''

Monday's fire was burning about a mile south of Pepperdine, where classes remained in session. For the most part, the fire was kept south of Pacific Coast Highway, which formed a firebreak.

Television images showed bright orange flames flaring up in the night sky over a narrow strip of the beach colony on Malibu Road.

``I could see the flames from as far back as Santa Monica,'' said Canoga Park resident Jim Bartoo, a motorist heading home on Pacific Coast Highway. ``There were huge smoke clouds over the ocean.''

Evacuees were being sent to Malibu High School, where a temporary shelter had been set up.

Pacific Coast Highway remained closed as business operators who opened wondered whether they should leave.

``It's burning toward the ocean but it is too close for comfort,'' said Daniel Forge, owner of the empty Beau Rivage restaurant, who said he could see the flames earlier. ``I don't know if they are going to come and tell us to leave.''

``Everyone's been calling (to cancel takeout orders), but nobody's here,'' said Katie Blynes, hostess at Allegria Restaurant, also on PCH. ``I don't think anyone is going to get to us tonight.''

Traffic remained backed up as Malibu Canyon Road was shut at Mulholland Highway for more than an hour while Pacific Coast Highway remained backed up for miles in each direction, with closures at Kanan Dume and Cross Creek roads as motorists took alternative routes up through canyons.

``You knew it was going get bad because seven or eight firetrucks came flying by and once I heard what had happened on the radio, I turned back and went up Topanga Canyon Road,'' said David Armstrong, who was making his way home to Agoura Hills from Santa Monica on Pacific Coast Highway.

The Malibu City Council canceled its regularly scheduled meeting.

Red-flag warnings had been posted for much of Southern California due to the siege of gusty north and northeast winds and low humidities.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

susan.abram(at)dailynews.com

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CAPTION(S):

3 photos, map

Photo:

(1 -- color) A house explodes in the extreme heat of the brush fire on Malibu Road. Three other homes also were destroyed and 20 acres burned.

(2 -- color) A firefighter waits for water to help cool a gas line at one of the homes on fire Monday evening along Malibu Road.

(3 -- color) Firefighters work to put out a blaze that engulfed a home on Malibu Road on Monday night.

Tina Burch/Staff Photographer

Map:

Brush fire destroys homes

Warren Huskey/Staff Artist