MALIBU, Calif. (AP) — Weather conditions were forecast to improve in Southern California this week, helping firefighters in their battle against a wind-driven wildfire that has killed up to 20,000 people — including artists Cher, Dick Van Dyke and his wife – torn their homes from existence.

Residents under evacuation orders and warnings Tuesday waited anxiously to see if their properties had been spared from the so-called Franklin Fire, which broke out late Monday and burned more than 2,800 acres (1,133 hectares) in less than 24 hours. grew.

The National Weather Service said late Tuesday that the strongest Santa Ana winds had passed, with gusts of up to 40 miles per hour (64 km/h). The infamous Santa Ana winds are weak, dry gusts that blow from inland toward the coast, pushing back moist sea breezes.

Although the weather was expected to improve, forecasters said gusty winds would continue into Wednesday morning, particularly in the mountains, and critical fire conditions would remain in place.

Much of the devastation occurred in Malibu, a community of about 10,000 people on the western edge of Los Angeles known for its stunning scenery of seaside cliffs and Zuma Beach, which has been featured in Hollywood films. Flames burned near famous beach villas, horse farms and Pepperdine University, where around 3,000 students were forced to seek shelter on campus. Many evacuated their dormitories through smoke and ash to the library as flames burned in the nearby ravine.

It was initially not known how the fire broke out. Los Angeles County Fire Department Chief Anthony C. Marrone said a preliminary aerial survey estimated that seven structures were destroyed and eight structures were damaged.

“This has been a traumatic 20 hours for the city of Malibu,” said Malibu Mayor Doug Stewart. Malibu City Hall was in the fire’s path, forcing officials to move to nearby Calabasas as a base for emergency operations, he continued.

Many large fires have burned in Malibu, and there is now a well-known cycle of charring once-lush vegetation.

“It burns, it grows back and we are resilient and strong,” the mayor said.

Van Dyke, one of many celebrities with homes in Malibu, said he and his wife Arlene Silver were evacuated as the fire struck. The actor turns 99 on Friday. “Arlene and I evacuated safely with our animals, except Bobo escaped upon exiting,” Van Dyke said, referring to one of her cats. “We pray that he is well and that our community at Serra Retreat survives these terrible fires.”

Cher was evacuated from her Malibu home on orders and is staying at a hotel, her publicist Liz Rosenberg said late Tuesday.

The fire broke out shortly before 11 p.m. Monday and spread quickly south, skipping the famed Pacific Coast Highway and spreading to the ocean, where large homes line the beach and rugged inland ravines are known to be fire-prone. At one point, flames threatened the historic Malibu Pier, but the structure was protected, officials said.

By Monday evening, power was off to about 40,000 customers, including 11,000 in L.A. County, as Edison in Southern California worked to mitigate the impact of the Santa Ana winds, whose strong gusts can damage electrical equipment and spark wildfires. Gabriela Ornelas, an Edison spokeswoman, said power was shut off to most customers in Malibu on Monday around 6 or 7 p.m.

The Woolsey Fire, which raged through Malibu in 2018, killing three people and destroying 1,600 homes, was started by Edison appliances.

While Malibu is known for its prominent and uber-wealthy residents, Kasey Earnest, executive director of the Boys and Girls Club of Malibu, said Tuesday that she is particularly concerned about the lower- and middle-class families, ranchers and farmers who make up the community exists, too.

“I refer to these residents as the heart of Malibu,” she said. “They’re just normal families – no one lands a helicopter on their property.”

___ Dazio reported from Los Angeles. Associated Press journalists Christopher Weber in Los Angeles; Amy Taxin in Orange County, California; Gabriela Aoun in San Diego; and Kathy McCormack in Concord, New Hampshire; contributed to this report.