A fast-moving bushfire in Malibu has prompted officials to issue mandatory evacuation orders as firefighters battle the inferno.
The three-alarm blaze, being called the “Franklin Fire,” was first reported around 10:45 p.m. Monday near Malibu Canyon Road, near Pepperdine University, where a mandatory shelter-in-place order is in place.
Video posted on X shows students taking shelter inside a library as intense flames and smoke are seen outside a window.
“Despite any evacuation orders from Malibu city or surrounding areas, the University community should follow University instructions,” Pepperdine University wrote on social media.
“We do not evacuate the campus even when surrounding areas might – this shelter-in-place protocol is approved by LA County Fire and executed with their cooperation.”
The raging inferno has already engulfed 1,674 acres with zero containment, and hundreds of structures are at risk of being engulfed by flames, Cal Fire reported early Tuesday morning.
“Mandatory evacuation orders are in order east of Malibu Canyon Rd and South of Piuma Rd. as well as the Serra Retreat area,” the Los Angeles County Fire Department wrote in a Facebook post.
A mandatory evacuation order had been issued for Malibu Pier, Malibu Village Mall, and City Hall as of 1:45 a.m. PTD due to the “immediate threat to life.”
Officials have shut down a five-mile stretch of the Pacific Coast Highway from Carbon Cyn to Corral Cyn.
Late Monday night, deputies with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department went door-to-door in Malibu, using loudspeakers urging residents to evacuate.
Officials have not yet revealed the cause of the fire.
The flames — fueled by strong winds — moved into the Serra Retreat area around 1 a.m. Tuesday, where they are threatening structures.
The National Weather Service reported winds of up to 45 mph and gusts of up to 65 mph in the area.
Multiple water-dropping aircraft were called to the scene to assist with the massive blaze.
The National Weather Service has issued a “Particularly Dangerous Situation” red flag warning for vast swaths of Los Angeles and Ventura counties.
