The Thousand Oaks City Council voted to declare a state of emergency Tuesday because of fires that burned hillsides and homes in the city last week.

Shortly after the Hill and Woolsey fires broke out Thursday, the city manager announced a state of emergency, which allows the city to seek state and federal financial assistance in dealing with the fires.

But the City Council must vote to approve the declaration for it to remain in effect. During a special meeting Tuesday evening, the council unanimously voted to approve the declaration and to return within 30 days to determine whether it needs to be continued.

Malibu has lifted some of its mandatory evacuation orders as firefighters make progress with the Woolsey fire.

Residents who live between Coastline and Carbon Mesa Road and from the ocean to the northern city limits (with some exceptions) will be allowed entry with proper I.D.

According to the city, residents in the following neighborhoods will be granted access with valid I.D.:

• West of Coastline Drive
• East of Carbon Mesa Road
• From the ocean to the northern Malibu city limits (between Coastline and Carbon Mesa Road) with the following exceptions: 
o Full closure at Tuna Canyon Road and Pacific Coast Highway
o Full closure on Rambla Pacifico Drive 400 meters north of Pacific Coast Highway (at the tennis courts)

Los Angeles County sheriff's personnel will be maintaining a checkpoint at PCH just north of Coastline Drive in the unincorporated area of Los Angeles County. Only residents of the repopulated areas in the city of Malibu will be permitted to enter this area and they must provide proper I.D. Employees of Malibu businesses will not be allowed access.

Evacuation orders remain in effect for all other neighborhoods of Malibu. 

The Camp fire displaced tens of thousands of people, some of whom headed to the region's hotels. But complicating the search for family members and friends, the listed phone numbers for some hotels weren’t working.

The Red Cross shelter at Bidwell Junior High School in Chico had a sign on the wall listing three numbers for people to call to report missing persons. All three numbers went to voicemail when a reporter tried to call Tuesday.

Red Cross volunteers also handed out forms at its Chico shelters for people to fill out and declare that they were OK as part of the agency’s Safe and Well program. 

At Chico’s Neighborhood Church, hundreds of handwritten names are listed on a board, a makeshift information center for anxious relatives and friends to find one another.

The board, at a Red Cross shelter, is a throwback to the era before Facebook and Twitter. On white and yellow lined paper, friends and relatives write down the names of the missing, their relationship to the person, and a contact number. Photos and personal messages are also posted.

“I love you” was written next to the name “John Sedwick.” A man left a message for Mary Cory:  “I’m OK, don’t worry about me.” He said he was headed to Yuba City and left a gmail address.

Over the last several days, Blake Bellairs, 36, has been searching for his younger brother, Josh.

Bellairs and his girlfriend drove down from Medford, Ore., on Monday night to pick up his mother and stepfather, residents of Paradise who lost everything in the fire. Finding Josh, 32, hasn't been so easy.

Bellairs has tried calling the local jails and authorities as well as TV stations and has scoured social media for mentions of his brother. He has called his brother's friends and former girlfriends. One friend heard that Josh got a ride through nearby Magalia, but who knows?

Megan Butler, 26, is the cousin of Chaz Gramps, whose estranged family is trying to find him. They don’t talk, but she did want to know he was OK. 

She and other family members have been following Facebook posts on him.

Butler is from the tiny town of Concow, Calif., population 710, and was staying at her mom’s house in Oroville on Tuesday with her two young daughters, Novalei, 5, and Aurora, 2. 

All that remains of the the Peter Strauss Ranch — once a magnificent symbol of the West — is charred remnants.

The ranch once had a swimming pool and amphitheater and featured performances by country stars Johnny Cash and Willie Nelson. 

The Woolsey fire left behind a white central chimney and stone walls. Nearby, a white chair sits alone beneath a tree. 

It’s a quintessential Southern California rescue effort involving a yacht, a billionaire and surfers.

Howard Leight, a winery owner, has lent his yacht to volunteers who are delivering donated supplies to victims of the Woolsey fire.

On Tuesday morning, several people loaded the 150-foot Leight Star with water bottles, snacks, dog food, gas and other necessities before making their way to Paradise Cove.

Smaller boats were tied behind the yacht to help offload supplies. When the Leight Star neared the Paradise Cove coast, surfers swam toward the boat to help deliver the supplies. 

Fire officials say a flare-up from the Woolsey fire that broke out Tuesday morning does not pose an imminent threat.

The new fire, which sent thick plumes of smoke into the air, occurred in the overall fire perimeter in Boney Mountain, according to Ventura County Fire Capt. Stan Ziegler. The spot fire measures several hundred acres and is burning north and west of Malibu Canyon.

Residents of Hidden Valley and Lake Sherwood already had been evacuated, and the blaze was far from any homes.