A Malibu resident declared victory over the Franklin Fire after staying behind despite evacuation orders to keep his property and several others from being destroyed by flames.
“When you’re in Malibu and you’ve been through a couple of fires, you know you have to stay because the embers [can] float a mile and land on a roof or a lawn and you can put it out with a garden hose,” Alec Gellis told KTLA’s Erin Myers Tuesday morning.
The Franklin Fire broke out shortly before 11 p.m. Monday before exploding overnight to 2,200 acres and threatening thousands of homes.
“What we do is we get gas-powered water pumps,” Gellis said. “We put them in our pool and we super-soak the whole house. We turn it into a tropical rainforest where nothing will catch on fire and then that frees us up to save the other houses. So, we saved five houses.”
Alec Gellis talks with KTLA on Dec. 10, 2024, after he stayed behind to fight the Franklin Fire in Malibu. (KTLA) 
Firefighters work as the Franklin Fire burns near a building on December 10, 2024 in Malibu, California. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images) 
A firefighter sprays water as the Franklin Fire burns on December 10, 2024 on Malibu, California. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images) 
Crews battle the Franklin Fire as it grows to over 1,600 acres as of 3:45 a.m. Dec. 10 in the hills of Malibu amidst a Potentially Dangerous Situation (PDS) Red Flag Warning high-wind weather event. (RMG News) 
A vehicle burns during the Franklin Fire on the campus of Pepperdine University in Malibu, Calif., Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer)
Gellis said just one other resident stayed behind to help him fight the fires but was sure to complement the efforts of firefighters at the scene.
“The firefighters did an incredible job. It’s amazing. They showed up and they were everywhere. Starting at maybe 11 p.m., so many fire trucks driving around. I mean, the whole entire hillside was on fire … The whole backside of this canyon looks like Utah now,” Gellis said.
Unfortunately, not all of the homes in the area were saved.
Erin’s crew saw at least two houses that were destroyed, including one on the 23000 block of Mariposa De Oro Street.
But when asked how this ordeal compared with the 2018 Woolsey Fire, Gellis said it was “not even close.”
“Woolsey. A thousand people or more lost their homes. Here, we won! I mean, as a neighborhood one or two homes burned down,” Gellis said. “I think it was amazing.”
Gellis says he knows the people who lived in one of the homes destroyed by the fire.
“It’s really, really sad. When this house caught on fire our house had trees on fire and we were putting those out and we couldn’t get to this house … Would have loved to have been able to have saved that house,” Gellis said.
