A wildfire in the beach community of Malibu, California, raged unchecked on Wednesday after destroying several structures and forcing residents to flee and schools to close in the area. More than 1,500 firefighters were battling the Franklin Fire,

Improving weather conditions in Southern California on Wednesday raised officials’ hopes that firefighters could rein in the Franklin Fire, which forced evacuation orders or warnings for 20,000 residents in the Malibu area,

A wind-fanned wildfire quickly spread early on Tuesday in Malibu, threatening homes and businesses in the coastal California community where many Hollywood elites reside.Many celebrities and Hollywood executives own multi-million dollar homes in Malibu,