Bryson Fire Forced 38 Youths From a Malibu Juvenile Camp to Sylmar

Two days after the fire started near Campus Vernon Kilpatrick, L.A. County Probation said the young people could safely go back.

A brush fire broke out Thursday afternoon in the hills above Malibu. It started near a county juvenile camp where 38 young people were being held.

By that evening, all 38 were in Sylmar. Per a Thursday statement from the Los Angeles County Probation Department, the female and gender-expansive youth left Campus Vernon Kilpatrick for Barry J. Nidorf Juvenile Hall. The department said the camp's superintendent decided to leave.

Two days later, they got the all-clear. In a Saturday evening update, the county said Probation had decided the camp was safe again. Staff were arranging the trip back, and the county said parents and other stakeholders would hear once the move was finished.

County officials put the fire's start at about 4:41 p.m. near Encinal Canyon Road. The county fire department said it broke out near the camp itself, west of Mulholland Highway, MyNewsLA reported.

Santa Ana winds moved it fast. It covered roughly 20 acres within half an hour, and by early evening Cal Fire's estimate was close to 200, according to MyNewsLA. Aerial mapping later brought that down to 146 acres.

The camp wasn't the only place that had to clear out. Evacuation orders covered Zuma and Trancas canyons, and warnings ran from near Malibu Road to Leo Carrillo State Beach. The county opened a shelter at Agoura High School and a large-animal shelter at Pierce College. By Saturday evening, the county said, every order and warning had been lifted, two zones had dropped to advisories and both shelters had closed.

No buildings burned. The county said not a single structure was damaged or lost, and firefighters came away with minor injuries at worst, though MyNewsLA reported that 7,221 structures were still considered threatened Friday evening. The cause was still unclear as of Saturday.

By Sunday afternoon, the fire was 74% contained, CBS Los Angeles reported, citing county and Cal Fire firefighters.

In its first statement, Probation said it knew an evacuation can be hard on young people and their families. It said staff were there to help and that parents and guardians were getting calls directly. On Monday, the Probation Department said the youth were returned to Campus Vernon Kilpatrick on Sunday, Oct. 18, and that the return "was completed without incident."

Source: Los Angeles County, retrieved October 19, 2026. Other sources: Los Angeles County (2), mynewsla.com, CBS News.