Containment of Franklin Fire in Malibu grows as weather conditions improve

Containment of the Franklin Fire in Malibu grew to 35% Saturday morning, while the fire size remained at 4,037 acres, officials said. 

Firefighters have been making steady progress since the fire erupted Monday night near Pepperdine University. According to Cal Fire, the blaze continues to smolder in steep and dangerous terrain and crews are fighting it from the air to keep it from spreading.

Also helping firefighters are cooler conditions, higher humidity and weakening winds. When the wildfire first sparked, Santa Ana winds had fueled its spread to 2,600 acres within a day.

Damage inspections are still ongoing, but as of Saturday morning 19 structures had been destroyed including eight homes, according the city officials.

Another 23 structures were damaged including 14 single-family homes and four outbuildings. 

At the height of the fire, roughly 20,000 people were under either evacuation orders or warnings. All mandatory evacuations were lifted Friday, allowing all residents to return to their homes, city officials said.

"This significant milestone reflects the progress made by our first responders and partner agencies in ensuring the safety of our community," Malibu city spokesman Matt Myerhoff said in a statement on Friday. 

The city of Malibu announced Saturday morning that Pacific Coast Highway is fully open for traffic, but Malibu Canyon remains closed. 

The city will open a local assistance center at Malibu City Hall on Tuesday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and will hold a community meeting on Wednesday. 

Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Tuesday that the state secured a Fire Management Assistance Grant from FEMA to ensure resources are available to help fight the blaze.

Officials have not identified a cause of the fire.