MALIBU—Los Angeles County firefighters battled a brush fire on August 16 in Malibu Creek State Park. With forward progress currently stopped, the Rock Fire burned around 75 acres of brush.

Beginning around 1:45 p.m. there were reports of a 5-10 acre brush fire with medium fuels and 12 miles per house winds. Minutes later the fire was beyond 10 acres with a potential for 25 acres. A request for an additional fire helicopter was also made.

The fire was reported to not threaten any structures, but it spread “through a drainage up to the top of a ridge,” as LACoFD Incident Alerts tweeted. The immediate priority was to stop the fire from jumping Mulholland, which could place many residential structures in danger.

By 3:39 p.m. the fire was reported to have been mapped at 75 acres with 70 percent containment. The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Malibu/Lost Hills station announced partial road closures on Mulholland Highway and Malibu Canyon.

LAFD firefighter Michael Dubron shared a video on Twitter of three fire helicopters filling up at Malibu Lake to help fight the blaze.

According to Twitter user @ai6yrham, the Rock Pool Fire burn area began entirely in the burn area of the Woolsey Fire from 2018, diminishing any regrowth of natural vegetation in the area.

A photo of the burn area of the Rock Pool Fire overlayed on the Woolsey Fire burn area. Photo shared to Twitter by @ai6yrham.

All Malibu Creek State Park campsites were evacuated and law enforcement and state park personnel began evacuating day hikers. At 4:25, the LASD Lost Hills announced Malibu Canyon’s reopening. Flame Mapper released an active model of the fire at 75 acres with 70 percent containment, sharing the map to Twitter.

A rendering of the burn area at 75 acres and 70% containment. Photo shared to Twitter by FlameMapper.

As of publication, the fire has not been completely extinguished, but forward progress is reported to have stopped. The cause of the fire is currently under investigation.