A significant brush fire ignited in Malibu, prompting the L.A. County Fire Department to issue a third alarm and mandatory evacuation orders. (Video Courtesy: RMG News)
MALIBU, Calif. – A raging wildfire is threatening Pepperdine University, forcing students to shelter-in-place as flames approach the campus early Tuesday morning.
University officials have suspended normal operations on its Malibu campus for the day, canceling final exams scheduled.
Students and faculty took shelter at the Payson Library and the Tyler Campus Center as the rapidly expanding Franklin Fire, which has grown to over 850 acres, was visible from the Malibu campus.
A video shared from California shows students sheltering inside a library at Pepperdine University as the Franklin Fire can be seen raging outside a window.
Multiple Los Angeles County Fire Department engines have been stationed on campus, and helicopters have utilized the lakes in Alumni Park to collect water for aerial firefighting efforts.
The strong, potentially dangerous and long-duration Santa Ana winds are ramping up across Southern California, especially in areas like Ventura County’s coast, the western San Fernando Valley and the western Santa Monica Mountains, where High Wind Warnings are already in place.
The FOX Forecast Center said the fire event has the potential to be as strong as the Nov. 5-6 Santa Ana event that led to the Mountain Fire.
The National Weather Service in Los Angeles has issued a “Particularly Dangerous Situation” (PDS) Fire Weather Warning. These high-end warnings don’t come often, with fewer than oneissued per year. Fire Weather Warnings have been issued in the region.
A dramatic video recorded in California shows a massive wildfire named the Franklin Fire burning in Malibu.