Firefighters have been battling a dangerous and fast-moving blaze in Malibu, California.
It is not yet known how the blaze, named the Franklin Fire, started.
LA County Fire Department officials estimated that at least 2.8 square miles have been burned, with homes and buildings threatened.
A sign burns as firefighters battle the Franklin Fire in Malibu, California.
Pic: AP
Authorities in Malibu also said the fire has a “rapid rate of spread”, with around 6,000 residents ordered to evacuate.
Electricity has been shut off to mitigate the impacts of California‘s notorious Santa Ana winds – dry and warm northeast gusts that blow from the interior of Southern California towards the coast and offshore. They typically occur during the autumn months and continue through winter and into early spring.
In some areas where the fire has been spreading, wind speeds of up to 65mph were expected.
Firefighters battle the Franklin Fire in Malibu, California.
Pic: AP
Pic: AP
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Firefighters are pushed back by gusty winds while removing fuel around Pepperdine University. Pic: AP
The National Weather Service issued a red flag warning with a rare caution of a “particularly dangerous situation” starting on Monday evening into Tuesday for Los Angeles and Ventura counties.
The blaze is just north of Malibu – a small, wealthy city of around 10,000 people that is popular with celebrities.
The fire has also spread near Pepperdine University, which cancelled classes and directed students and employees to shelter at a library or campus centre.
Gabrielle Salgado, one student who sought safety from the fire in the library, told KABC-TV “seeing the flames grow” was “so scary”.
In a statement online, the university said the worst of the danger from the fire had passed.
But it added there were smaller fires on campus, which weren’t thought to be a major risk to life or buildings.
The Franklin Fire approaching Pepperdine University. Pic: AP
There were evacuations at Pepperdine University. Pic: AP
Fire engines were on campus to deal with these flames, the university said.
Helicopters collected water from a lake in the university’s Alumni Park to drop on the blaze nearby.
California is prone to devastating wildfires.
Just last month, thousands were forced to evacuate “extreme and life-threatening blazes” in Ventura county.