Frightening footage from Pepperdine University’s showed flames licking the windows of the library just feet from sheltering students as a Malibu wildfire raged across the Southern California campus overnight Monday.
By Tuesday, the Franklin Fire had spread to 2,200 acres and was almost completely uncontained.
The clip — taken inside the Payson Library — captured a hellish scene as a fiery glow lit up clouds of smoke darkening the campus.
In the window’s reflection nervous students could be seen sheltering in the library, where most students remained through the night on the administration’s orders.
Other footage from the elite school showed campus trees engulfed in flames as sparks flew on the wind, cars torched in parking lots and ridge-lines raged with open fires.
The flames reached the edge of the Malibu campus Monday night, prompting the school to cancel classes and issue shelter-in-place orders for students.
Helicopters scooped up water from a campus lake and dumped it onto the inferno.
Pepperdine’s shelter-in-place order was lifted at daybreak Tuesday after the school announced most of the fires had moved past campus.
Power started dropping out at the school Monday night within hours of the fire sparking near Malibu Canyon Road — prompting students to emerge from their dorms and watch the brightening night sky.
“I thought this is too bright, and it got bigger and bigger,” 20-year-old Pepperdine junior Ryan Song said. “I immediately went outside and saw that it was a real fire.”
Some students fleed from campus altogether instead of sheltering in the library. Their tires kicked up sparks from fires burning no the roadways as they sped off.
“It felt really close,” said Song, who joined fellow resident assistant’s going door to door through the doors to make sure everyone had left.
“Seeing the fire rampaging down the hill is obviously scary for students but I felt like our staff was prepared,” he added.
About 6,000 people and 2,000 structures have been ordered to evacuate in an area dotted with mansions. At least 8,100 homes and buildings are considered under threat.
The flames have been fanned by volatile gusts from the Santa Ana winds, which can blow up to 40 mph with little notice. Winds are expected to persist through Wednesday.
It remains unclear what sparked the fire, which kicked up Monday around 11 p.m. as a small brush fire, and has since jumped the Pacific Coast Highway and roared all the way to the ocean.
Los Angeles County Fire Department Chief Anthony C. Marrone said at least 1,000 firefighters have been deployed, but that the fire still is not contained anywhere.
Power has been cut to about 40,000 people in the area.
With Post wires.
