A wildfire in Malibu prompts evacuations as it burns near Pepperdine University

MALIBU – Firefighters battled a wildfire early Tuesday in Malibu that prompted evacuations near Pepperdine University, where students sheltering in the school’s library watched as the fire intensified and the sky turned deep red.

“Just seeing the flames get bigger and the bright red color of the fire getting brighter and brighter — it was so scary,” student Gabrielle Salgado told KABC-TV. The university later said the worst of the fire had already spread across campus.

It was not immediately known how the fire, dubbed the Franklin Fire, started, but Los Angeles County Fire Department officials estimated that at least 2.8 square miles (7.2 square kilometers) had burned and structures were at risk.

The fire burned under dangerous fire conditions due to Southern California’s notorious Santa Ana winds. The evacuation order included about 6,000 people and more than 2,000 buildings, KABC-TV reported, attributing that information to the fire department.

A damage estimate was not available, but “it’s certain that some homes will definitely be severely damaged,” Matt Myerhoff, a spokesman for the city of Malibu, told the station.

He said the fire moved south, crossed the Pacific Coast Highway and spread to the ocean. It once threatened the historic Malibu Pier, but the pier is protected and intact, Myerhoff said.

Pepperdine canceled classes and final exams for the day and a curfew was ordered. Fire engines were deployed on campus and helicopters dropped water on the fire from lakes in the school’s Alumni Park.

“The university recognizes that Pepperdine has put the worst of the fire behind it. However, there are small, isolated fires on campus that do not threaten lives or buildings, and fire resources remain on campus to combat these isolated fires as they occur,” Pepperdine wrote in an online statement.

North to northeast winds were expected to increase to 30 to 40 miles per hour (48 to 64 km/h), with gusts of up to 65 miles per hour (105 km/h), the National Weather Service Los office released Angeles on X

By Monday evening, power was off for tens of thousands of people as utilities worked to mitigate the impact of the Santa Ana winds, whose strong gusts can damage electrical equipment and spark wildfires.

Santa Anas are dry, warm, gusty northeast winds that blow toward and offshore from the interior of Southern California. They typically occur in the fall months and continue through the winter and into early spring.

The weather service issued a high fire danger and rare “particularly hazardous situation” (PDS) warning for Los Angeles and Ventura counties Monday through Tuesday from 8 p.m.