'Other' Malibu in the news

It is a tale of one city with two distinct personalities.

Seaward of Pacific Coast Highway are most of the billionaires, film stars and other celebrities who own oceanfront homes that unfurl like flowers onto Malibu's quasi-private beaches.

On the other side of PCH, especially up the rugged canyons, are residents of a different kind. Some are wealthy, to be sure, but many are professional class or lucky longtime homeowners who bought in early.

The inland residents of Malibu are known for something else: Their homes, more frequently, are the ones that burn.

"There are two kinds of Malibu," said Mayor Jeff Jennings, recalling a description of his longtime home. "There is the beach Malibu. And there is the rocks and cactus and coyote-ate-the-cat kind of Malibu."

The 53 houses lost in the weekend's Corral fire fall in the latter category, Jennings said. Concentrated in rugged Corral, Latigo and Sycamore canyons, most of them are "relatively modest homes built on quarter-acre or half-acre lots," he said. "I know a bunch of these folks. Some are teachers, some are real estate guys and some are working in the movie business. They're not movie stars."

Nancy Gauthier, 62, a critical-care nurse who now works as a systems analyst at Saint John's Health Center in Santa Monica, lost her home on Lockwood Road in Corral Canyon, which she bought in 1978 for $150,000. All that remains are a few concrete steps leading up to what used to be a front door.

She's been through many fires. "Every time, you lose a few inches off your teeth because you grind them," she said. Still, she loves the tight-knit community, the location, the view.

"Where else can you see the bobcats and see the mountains and see the ocean and still be reasonably close to the city?" Gauthier said.

The neighbor directly behind her property, Jackie Robbins, a leather clothing designer, lost her home of more than 30 years. So did Wendy Keller, a literary agent, who would host a block party four times a year. Neighbor Steve Woods, a carpenter, played guitar at those gatherings.

Woods came home after a Thanksgiving hiking trip in Big Sur to find his house damaged but still standing. And, much to his relief, he found a note saying that a neighbor had rescued his dog.

The fire gutted the top floor of his house and his kitchen and demolished the wooded deck. "My backyard is like Baghdad," he said Monday, sizing up the damage with an insurance inspector.