Inmate Firefighter Injured Battling Blaze In Southern California

MALIBU, Calif. (AP) -- A Los Angeles County Fire official says a firefighter has been injured while battling a blaze that has charred 7 acres of brush along canyon hillsides in Malibu.

Inspector Randall Wright says a female member of an inmate camp crew was transported to a hospital by helicopter with major injuries Thursday.

The blaze that broke out shortly before 3 a.m. off Mulholland Highway near Decker Canyon is 35 percent contained.

Wright says no evacuations have been ordered but plans are in place to get residents out if the flames flare up again.

Light winds are assisting helicopter crews making water drops over the fire in steep, inaccessible terrain north of Pacific Coast Highway. Several roads are shut down.

The cause is under investigation.