Crash of motorized hang glider causes small Malibu fire

A man using a motorized hang glider crashed today near Malibu Bluffs State Park, suffering burns and sparking a quarter-acre brush fire, authorities said.

The incident was reported about 11:10 a.m. near Malibu Canyon Road and Pacific Coast Highway, directly above the park, said Inspector Frank Garrido of the Los Angeles County Fire Department.

About 50 firefighters extinguished the blaze in about an hour, he said. Paramedics treated the man at the scene for second-degree burns but he was not hospitalized.

“The report was a brush fire, not a hang glider crash,” Garrido said. “We do get calls on hang gliders that do crash in the Palos Verdes area or are reported missing, so that’s not uncommon… . But this one’s rare because the hang glider was motorized, which was the main factor responsible for the fire.”

francisco.varaorta@latimes.com