A severe wildfire near Pepperdine University in California forced residents and students to evacuate amid dangerous wind conditions.
Firefighters battled a wildfire early Tuesday in Malibu, California, near Pepperdine University, prompting evacuations amid dangerous conditions due to what are known as Santa Ana winds in Southern California.
It was not immediately known how the fire, called the Franklin Fire, started, but officials with the Los Angeles County Fire Department estimated that at least 1.3 square miles (3.4 square kilometers) of land had burned and structures were threatened. KTLA-TV reported.
Pepperdine University canceled classes and final exams for the day and a stay-at-home order was in place. The flames could be seen from the campus, the institution said in a statement. Fire trucks were sent to the campus and helicopters were dropping water collected from Alumni Park lakes on the fire.
North-to-northeast winds are forecast to increase to 30 to 40 miles per hour (48 to 64 kilometers per hour), with gusts up to 65 mph (105 km/h), the National Weather Service office said in Los Angeles in X.
Utilities cut power to tens of thousands of people Monday night as they worked to mitigate the impact of strong Santa Ana winds in Southern California, whose powerful gusts could damage electrical equipment and spark wildfires. .
The National Weather Service issued a red warning for high fire risk with the unusual designation of “particularly dangerous situation” from eight p.m. on Monday until Tuesday for Los Angeles and Ventura counties.
The fire department issued a mandatory evacuation order for residents living east of Malibu Canyon Road and south of Piuma Road. University officials said they were monitoring the situation.
Malibu has around 10,000 residents, but it was not immediately known how many were affected by the evacuation order.