Firefighters are responding to a 300-acre wildfire that triggered evacuation orders and prompted Pepperdine University to issue a shelter-in-place order late Monday in Malibu as the Southland is hit with elevated winds amid a red flag warning. The blaze, dubbed the Franklin Fire , was reported sometime around 11:15 p.m. at Malibu Canyon Road, north of Francisco Ranch Road. Due to the blaze, Malibu Canyon Road will be closed until further notice between Pacific Coast Highway and Mulholland Highway. > 24/7 San Diego news stream: Watch NBC 7 free wherever you are The National Weather Service said north to northeast winds have the potential to increase to 30 to 40 mph with gusts potentially reaching 65 mph overnight amid the firefight. According to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, the blaze is burning east and moving toward the top of Piuma Road. A mandatory evacuation order is in effect for areas east of Malibu Canyon Road and south of Piuma Road, as well as the Serra Retreat area. In a social media post, Pepperdine University announced it activated its shelter-in-place protocol. "All community members on the Malibu campus are directed to shelter in place in the Tyler Campus Center or Payson Library," the university said on its post. "Despite any evacuation orders from Malibu city or surrounding areas, the University community should follow University instructions." U.S. & World Rupert Murdoch's attempt to change his family's trust rejected US indicts 2 former Syrian officials, accuses them of torturing prisoners The University is now activating its shelter-in-place protocol. All community members on the Malibu campus are directed to shelter in place in the Tyler Campus Center or Payson Library. Despite any evacuation orders from Malibu city or surrounding areas, the University community... The City of Malibu announced a large animal evacuation site has been set up at the Palisades Recreation Center, which is located at 851 Alma Real Dr. A large animal shelter is available at Pierce College in Woodland Hills. Due to the fire, LA County activated an emergency webpage to keep residents up to date on the blaze. To keep up with the county's latest information on the fire, click here . A spokesperson for LA Mayor Karen Bass said her office is aware of the fire. "The Office of Mayor Karen Bass is tracking the fire in Malibu and encourages Angelenos to follow instructions from public safety officials," the representative said in a statement. This is a breaking news story. Please refresh as more details become available.The battle over elk on private lands in Montana is heading to the state Supreme Court. On Nov. 19, the United Property Owners of Montana (UPOM) filed a notice of appeal with the high court regarding its lawsuit against the state Department of Fish, Wildlife & Parks and the Fish and Wildlife Commission over elk management. In the notice, the group challenged the final judgement and “all previous orders, rulings, and decisions excepted or objected which led up to and resulted in the Final Judgement.” An FWP spokesman refused to comment on ongoing litigation as did the agency’s attorney. “We feel the district court judge did not address the key question of whether the law requires FWP to manage big game populations to objective levels, and to use every tool available to do so,” said Chuck Denowh, policy director for UPOM. “We’re confident that the Supreme Court will answer this question, and provide the need of relief to the Montana landowners who are suffering from FWP‘s inaction.” A landowners' group is appealing a District Court judge's ruling in a lawsuit over the state's management of elk. Judge’s ruling UPOM is a nonprofit that touts ties to ranchers, landowners and outfitters. The group sued FWP and the commission in 2022 to compel the agency to “remove, harvest, or eliminate thousands of elk this year” citing damages that caused “an economic crisis” for its members. In September, Tenth Judicial District Court Judge Gregory Todd ruled FWP and the commission had “considered the concerns of private landowners” and were managing for a “sustainable elk population,” the Montana Free Press reported. Judge Todd shot down UPOM’s request seeking to require FWP to reduce elk populations, saying Montana statutes “do not provide the ‘clear legal duty’ to cull elk herds to UPOM’s objectives.” “The obligation of FWP and the Commission is not to kill thousands of elk, but rather to manage their objectives,” Todd wrote . “The standard is to use discretion to facilitate reducing and maintaining elk at their objective levels. If the State had no discretion, there would be no need for an elk management plan.” Denowh disagreed. “We’ve asked that FWP use every tool available to bring elk populations down to a reasonable level,” he said. “They’ve refused to do so, resulting in our lawsuit and now this appeal to the Montana Supreme Court.” Intervening Seven Montana sporting groups and public access advocates successfully petitioned the court to intervene in the lawsuit, which UPOM has also challenged. Frank Szollosi, executive director of the intervening Montana Wildlife Federation, said the groups are willing to do whatever it takes to defend science-driven, equitable elk management and licensing. He admitted some landowners experience game damage as elk populations have grown, but disagrees with UPOM’s suggestions for reducing elk numbers. Szollosi said his group has worked with agricultural producers in the past to find solutions and will continue to do so. Yet Denowh said, “Central Montana landowners are being asked to shoulder an inordinate burden with big game populations that are far in excess of the target populations set by FWP. It’s costing them millions in lost feed and forage every year.” Elk divide The largest population of elk in central Montana is in Hunting Districts 411 and 535, next to the Big Snowy Mountains, where large landowners control access to a herd that numbered around 10,300 in 2023, within FWP’s management goals. Wildlife such as deer and elk on such properties are touted as selling points for ranches when they are listed, boosting a property’s price especially if access is exclusive. Meanwhile, outfitters sell trophy bull elk hunts for $6,000 to $12,500 each on lands where they claim exclusive access. Killing cow elk is the recognized way to reduce elk populations, since they produce offspring. However, outfitting for cow elk doesn’t generate the same amount of revenue. More recently, FWP has identified chronic wasting disease (CWD) infecting individual elk across the state. The always fatal disease is spread by contact with an infected animal’s bodily fluids. Agricultural fields where elk congregate are more likely to see the disease spread. Emily Mitchell, an FWP biologist, said CWD may be more prevalent in the state’s elk population than known since so few animals have been tested. There is no test for the disease in live animals. “I think we have such a small sample size of elk that it isn't that it's new on the landscape, we just hadn't gotten enough samples to detect it yet,” Mitchell said last month. Wildlife In 2024, Montana estimated the state’s elk population at 145,000, an increase of about 1.700 from the previous year. The state’s population goal is between 96,000 to 151,400. Thirty hunting districts, out of 138 were over FWP’s population goals, which are set based on landowner tolerance. Region 3, in southwest Montana, has the largest concentration of elk in the state, estimated at about 54,600 animals in 2023. One of the biggest herds in the state is in Region 3’s Gravelly Mountains, last estimated at more than 8,500 animals. In a Western Landowners Alliance article published last May, Granger Ranch operations manager Billy Whitehurst estimated the costs of feeding about 600 elk during the 2021-22 winter on the Region 3 ranch at $32,400 in lost crop productivity. Politics UPOM’s appeal comes as Cory Swanson is waiting in the wings to be sworn in as the new Montana Supreme Court chief justice. Denowh’s political lobbying company, The Montana Group, was one of the largest contributors to Swanson’s campaign. Swanson has worked as the Broadwater County attorney since 2014. Gov. Greg Gianforte also appointed a new director to lead FWP, Christy Clark, who has been the director of the state Department of Agriculture. Clark’s family ranches in the Choteau area where she also served as a Republican legislator for three terms. In the 2021 session, Republican legislators attempted to weigh in to the elk dispute with proposals to give landowners more freedom in providing hunting tags to people of their choice and may seek to again this session, Szollosi worried. So far, hunting groups have been successful in keeping wildlife a public resource in the state. Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.
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