Barely twelve hours after the fire began in Bluff Park here in Malibu, the post-fire ecosystem is in full swing. News choppers are thumping their way over the Pacific, camera trucks are parked all over town, traffic on PCH is at a crawl and Suzanne Somers, whose home was a total loss, is today's topic of conversation. (And check out fellow LA Observed contributor Jacob Soboroff's video report.)

"Are those the missing dogs?" a newscaster asked hopefully as I inched my car down Malibu Road, Jake and Maisie hanging out the back window. Several pets in the damaged homes remain unaccounted for.

These two? No.

"Is that fire damage on your car?" another asked as my aging Toyota wagon (32 miles per gallon AND it passes smog check) idled in traffic.

Ummm, no.

"Can you tell me how you feel?" a chirpy newscaster asked a woman standing in her bathrobe and slippers, staring down the road toward the remains of her home.

"No."

My pix follow.

House still smoking at 7 a.m.

A car and a cannon (hey, it's Malibu) destroyed in the fire.

A tree on Bluff Park, where the fire began.

Fire crew leaves Bluffs Park

(Lots more pix on the flickr page. Just click on photo to get there.)