Firefighters battled a brush 50-acre brush fire that ignited near homes on Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu Wednesday morning. The blaze had burned about 5 acres when it was first reported in the

California was lashed by powerful winds Wednesday that caused humidity levels to drop and prompted forecasters to warn of the potential for “extreme and life-threatening” wildfires. Los Angeles County Fire Department crews scrambled to contain a small blaze fed by erratic gusts that pushed flames through dry brush at a park along Pacific Coast Highway near Pepperdine University in Malibu.