WATCH! Students Take Refuge in Library as Wildfire Burns Just Outside!

The Pepperdine wildfire impacting Los Angeles County in California underwent a major intensification overnight.

According to one report the fire went from covering just 10 acres to 800 acres in under 3 hours.

🔥MAJOR WILDFIRE ERUPTS IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
-Located near #Pepperdine University in Malibu California
-12,000+ under evacuation protocols in the area
– #PepperdineUniversity under an active shelter-in-place
– #Wildfire as of 7am has burned nearly 1800 acres triggered by… pic.twitter.com/XVJHkvqg9t

— Mike Masco (@MikeMasco) December 10, 2024

Pepperdine University lies directly in the path of the fire and currently has fires burning just outside campus buildings.

Students under order to shelter-in-place have taken refuge in the library, where glass windows have given them a surreal experience as the wildfire burned past the university campus.

View from the library at Pepperdine University in Malibu, California, during the Franklin Fire

pic.twitter.com/NM2mVbfX23

— Crime With Bobby (@CrimeWithBobby) December 10, 2024

Fox affiliate 11 out of Los Angeles shared the following video; surreal images of students inside the Library against the backdrop of the flames just feet away.

Pepperdine University students watch the #FranklinFire burn #Malibu from inside the campus' buildings https://t.co/p8n9vJHVCA pic.twitter.com/nzFTiEFYdT

— FOX 11 Los Angeles (@FOXLA) December 10, 2024

A local news correspondent shared this video to X overnight, reportedly very near to the Pepperdine University campus.

You can see the strong winds and the fire in Malibu. This is near Pepperdine University. pic.twitter.com/AdzsvDD9GW

— Steve Futterman (@sfutterman) December 10, 2024

The updates started coming in from Pepperdine University’s Facebook page early this morning.

Thankfully, most of the fire has pushed past the campus according to Fox News.

Pepperdine University continues to be impacted by the Franklin Fire in Los Angeles County, Calif., early Tuesday morning, and a shelter-in-place remains in effect “until at least daylight,” the university said.

Pepperdine’s updates have been coming across the university’s Facebook and X pages since just before 1 a.m. local time.

“The University understands the worst of the fire has pushed past Pepperdine,” the latest post to X reads. “However, there are smaller spot fires on campus that are not threatening life or structures, and fire resources remain on campus to address these spot fires as they occur.”

The post went on to say, “Additionally, power remains out for much of Malibu and therefore, to ensure the safety of our community, we will maintain the shelter-in-place protocol until at least daylight. The EOC will continue to update the community.”

Malibu campus operations have been suspended for Tuesday, canceling classes and final exams as students prepare for winter break.

Check out this live feed from Fox News on YouTube — the images coming out of this fire as it passes through the area and grows larger are otherworldly.

Evacuations near the University were underway earlier in the night.

The Santa Ana winds are being blamed for the surprising intensification overnight, as more than 6,000 people were ordered to evacuate so far according to the Associated Press.

“Just seeing the flames grow and seeing that bright red color of fire just get brighter and brighter and brighter — it was so scary,” student Gabrielle Salgado told KABC-TV. The university later said the worst of the fire had pushed past campus.

It was not immediately known how the blaze, named 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 threatened.

The fire burned amid dangerous fire conditions because of Southern California’s notorious Santa Ana winds. The evacuation order encompassed about 6,000 people and more than 2,000 structures, KABC-TV reported, attributing that information to fire officials.

North to northeast winds were forecast to increase to 30 to 40 miles per hour (48 to 64 kph) with gusts up to 65 mph (105 kph) expected, The National Weather Service Los Angeles office posted on X.

Power to tens of thousands of people had been shut off by Monday night as utilities worked to mitigate the impacts of Santa Ana winds, whose strong gusts can damage electrical equipment and spark wildfires.

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KTLA 5 News in Los Angeles is reporting that Pepperdine University is currently not being threatened by the fire, according to the University, as the majority of the fire has already burned past the campus.

Here is an update from just a few minutes ago, including some incredible footage taken by their news chopper.

Pepperdine University MALIBU on fire pic.twitter.com/abOlqJhBy5

— Dortie (@24SevenEyes) December 10, 2024

This is breaking news, with the total acres engulfed by the fire having just reached an estimated 1,800 acres at the time of this writing.

The fire is expecting to continue to grow exponentially over the course of the day as the winds continue to power the fire.

We will bring you updates as additional details become available.