A large brush fire is burning in Malibu Canyon near Pepperdine University, prompting some evacuations for residents.

The blaze, dubbed the Franklin Fire, was first reported a little after 10:45 p.m. near S. Malibu Canyon Road and Station Boundary just south of the Piuma area, according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department.

As of 11:45 p.m. crews reported that the fire had already engulfed about 100 acres. While there were no structures damaged, some were threatened, according to firefighters.

Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department deputies were working to evacuate residents living in zone MAL-C112, which includes the area east of Malibu Canyon Rd and South of Piuma Rd as well as the Serra Retreat. More information on evacuations is available on the Malibu city website.

Multiple water-dropping aircraft were called to the scene as crews deemed the blaze a Third Alarm incident.

It's unclear how the fire started.

California Highway Patrol officers closed Malibu Canyon from Muholland Drive to Pacific Coast Highway as the firefight continued.

Pepperdine school officials released a statement to note that they were closely monitoring the fire.

"The fire is not currently affecting any University campus," the statement said. "The Malibu Campus and local area may experience some power outages related to this incident."

Weather officials raised concerns over fire danger that would impact most of Southern California to start the way. Unusually low humidity paired with a powerful Santa Ana winds movement created dangerous conditions, which led them to issue a "particularly dangerous situation red flag warning."

In response, SoCal Edison has already warned tens of thousands of residents living throughout Los Angeles County that their service may be shut off if the winds intensify.

Conditions bore similarities to the weather when the Mountain Fire erupted in Ventura County in early-November. That blaze torched nearly 200,000 acres and destroyed more than 200 structures.

This is a developing story. Check back for details.

Dean Fioresi

Dean Fioresi is a web producer for CBS Los Angeles. He covers breaking news throughout Southern California. When he's not writing about local events, he enjoys focusing on sports and entertainment.

By CHRISTOPHER WEBER, JAE C. HONG and GABRIELA AOUN ANGUEIRA Associated Pres

MALIBU, Calif. (AP) — Cooler temperatures, calmer winds, and a chance of rainfall in Southern California this week are forecast to help firefighters as they battle a wind-driven blaze in steep, rugged terrain that’s driven thousands, including celebrities, from their homes in Malibu.

The weather improved so much Wednesday that meteorologists said all red flag warnings, which indicate conditions for high fire danger and the notorious Santa Ana winds, were discontinued. The conditions allowed firefighters to have “a lot of success” despite the nearly inaccessible terrain, CalFire Assistant Chief Dusty Martin said.

Still, some 20,000 residents remained under evacuation orders and warnings Wednesday evening from the blaze, dubbed the Franklin Fire, which was only 7% contained over 6 square miles (16 square kilometers).

It’s unclear how the blaze started. Officials said nine structures had been destroyed and at least six others had been damaged, though crews had only surveyed about 25% of the affected area, said Deputy Chief Albert Yanagisawa of the Los Angeles County Fire Department.

Much of the devastation occurred in Malibu, a community of about 10,000 people on the western edge of Los Angeles known for its stunning bluffs and Zuma Beach, which features in many Hollywood films.

Flames burned near horse farms, celebrities’ seaside mansions, and Pepperdine University, where students were forced to shelter in place on campus for a second night Tuesday.

Faculty members are determining how best to complete the semester, which ends at Pepperdine this week. Final exams were postponed or canceled, depending on the class, university spokesperson Michael Friel said. An early analysis showed little to no damage to structures on campus, the university said.

Lonnie Vidaurri’s four-bedroom home in the Malibu Knolls neighborhood is one of those destroyed. After evacuating to a hotel in Santa Monica with his wife and two young daughters, a neighbor called to tell Vidaurri that firefighters would need to break into his house.

“It’s pretty torched all around,” Vidaurri said. He expects that the family’s pet bunnies did not survive the fire, and that they lost most of their things. “My girls cried, obviously, but it could have been worse.”

Mimi Teller, a Red Cross spokesperson who worked in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood, said many people arrived in their pajamas and were “definitely in shock.”

“Nobody even had a backpack, it was, ‘Get out now,’” Teller said. “One lady didn’t even have a leash for her dog, she just scooped them up.”

Shawn Smith said he was asleep early Tuesday when someone knocked on his RV at 3 a.m. to wake him up to evacuate the Malibu RV Park.

“You could see the fires rolling in, in over the canyon,” he said. “It was like ‘Holy crap, this is real.’”

He returned Wednesday to find that the RV park had been saved — firefighters stopped the flames just before they entered the area.

“We got lucky,” he said.

Dick Van Dyke, one of many celebrities with homes in Malibu, said in a Facebook post that he and his wife, Arlene Silver, evacuated as the fire swept in. And Cher evacuated from her Malibu home when ordered and is staying at a hotel, her publicist, Liz Rosenberg, said Tuesday.

The fire erupted shortly before 11 p.m. Monday and swiftly moved south, jumping over the famous Pacific Coast Highway and extending all the way to the ocean. It was propelled by Santa Ana winds, with gusts that reached 40 mph (64 kph). Santa Anas are notorious seasonal winds that blow dry air from the interior toward the coast, pushing back moist ocean breezes.

Alec Gellis stayed behind Monday night to save his home in Malibu’s Serra Retreat neighborhood from the flames. He used pumps in the home’s swimming pool to help spray water over the house and surrounding vegetation, turning the lush area “into a rainforest.”

Gellis said there were flames within 5 feet (1.5 meters) of the home on all sides. “The whole canyon was completely lit up.”

Utilities preemptively shut off power to tens of thousands of homes and businesses, starting Monday night, to mitigate the impacts of the Santa Ana winds, whose strong gusts can damage electrical equipment and spark wildfires.

As of Wednesday afternoon, electricity was still out for roughly 600 Southern California Edison customers, and the majority of those were in Los Angeles County, said utility spokesperson Gabriela Ornelas.

“We have been making significant progress,” she said.

Outages in Malibu were not included in that figure, Ornelas said. Some 3,300 customers in the Malibu area remained without power, due to safety shutoffs and for firefighter safety. Power was first shut off to most customers in Malibu on Monday evening.

The Woolsey Fire that roared through the area in 2018, killing three people and destroying 1,600 homes, was sparked by Edison equipment. Asked Wednesday if Edison equipment was involved in the Franklin Fire, Ornelas referred all questions regarding the cause to fire officials.

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Weber reported from Los Angeles and Aoun reported from San Diego. Associated Press journalists Stefanie Dazio in Los Angeles; Amy Taxin in Orange County, California; Sarah Brumfield in Washington; and Eric Thayer, Damian Dovarganes and Jaimie Ding in Malibu, California, contributed to this report.

Watch: Wildfire rages in California's Malibu Canyon

Thousands have been ordered to evacuate near the city of Malibu in the US state of California after a fast-moving wildfire broke out and burned hundreds of acres - including several homes.

The blaze has been dubbed the Franklin Fire by authorities, who say it started in Malibu Canyon at about 22:50 local time on Monday (06:50 GMT).

A mandatory evacuation order is in place for a wide swathe of Malibu. No injuries have been reported but the blaze has destroyed multiple houses.

It is not yet clear what caused the fire but the region has been under a red-flag warning, meaning conditions are ripe for extreme fires.

Malibu itself is a small, upmarket city west of Los Angeles that is popular with celebrities. Homes owned by stars including Lady Gaga, Beyonce and Jay Z were reportedly among those in the evacuation zone.

More than 2,700 acres of land have so far been burned, according to the latest update from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire).

Photos showed the aftermath of the blaze's path, with burned out cars and buses as well as the charred remains of homes.

Schools in the area have closed, roads are shut, and power has been cut in the area to prevent worsening the blaze.

Meanwhile, evacuation centres have been opened for residents and animals. More than 5,000 people were in the evacuation zone, according to data from Cal Fire.

The blaze broke out near Pepperdine University, a private ocean-side school. The university had ordered students to shelter in place but has since lifted those orders, though the school continues to encourage students to remain on campus since nearby roads are closed for crews fighting the blaze. Power to the much of the campus and wider area had been cut and was expected to stay that way for the "foreseeable future", the school added.

Footage showed students at the school sheltering in the school's library as a wall of fire approached on Monday evening. Fire crews hosed down the flames. The school reported there was minor damage on campus but no students or staff had been injured.

Wildfires more generally in California have the capacity to burn through tens of thousands of acres of vegetation due to the typical dry conditions in the region, meaning that this blaze is relatively small - although officials were quick to highlight its speed of spread.

Pepperdine students shelter in library as Malibu fire nears campus

Malibu city authorities initially said the fire was about three miles (4.8km) north of the Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) - an iconic road along the Pacific Ocean known for its stunning views - but it quickly spread south across the road into the Malibu Pier area. The pier itself and other structures had been affected, they said.

The evacuation order covered a region that included east of Malibu Canyon Road and South of Puma Road as well as the Serra Retreat area, the County of Los Angeles Fire Department said.

A map of the blaze shows it was bordering city hall government facilities, a school and a number of homes in the area - including a line of ocean-front properties.

The latest incident comes about a month after another fire forced thousands of people to evacuate another nearby city, Moorpark.

California is a state that is prone to wildfires. The amount of burned areas in the summer in northern and central California increased five times from 1996 to 2021 compared with the 24-year period before, which scientists have attributed to human-caused climate change.

Not all wildfires can automatically be linked directly to climate change. The science is complicated and human factors, including how we manage land and forests, also contribute.

However, scientists say that climate change is making weather conditions that lead to wildfires, such as heat and drought, more likely.

Have you been asked to evacuate because of the fire? Get in touch.

MALIBU, Calif. (AP) — As weather improved in Southern California, firefighters found some success Wednesday battling a wind-driven blaze burning in steep, nearly inaccessible areas that forced thousands, including celebrities, from their homes in Malibu, fire officials said.

With much of the coastal city under evacuation orders and warnings, residents waited anxiously to see whether their properties had been spared by the fire, which erupted late Monday and grew to more than 6 square miles (16 square kilometers). The blaze, dubbed the Franklin Fire, was just 7% contained.

About 20,000 residents remained under evacuation orders and warnings Wednesday evening, said Capt. Jennifer Seetoo of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department

Firefighters had “a lot of success” battling the blaze Wednesday thanks to the improving weather, but it continued to burn in an area of very steep terrain that is difficult to access, CalFire Assistant Chief Dusty Martin said.

The National Weather Service said the week’s strongest Santa Ana winds, with gusts that reached 40 mph (64 kph), have passed. Forecasters said that all red flag warnings, which indicate conditions for high fire danger and Santa Ana winds, were discontinued.

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AP AUDIO: Malibu wildfire grows, thousands remain evacuated, but firefighters get break from improving weather

AP correspondent Julie Walker reports a Malibu wildfire prompts evacuation orders and warnings for 20,000, including Dick Van Dyke and Cher.

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Santa Anas are notorious seasonal winds that blow dry air from the interior toward the coast, pushing back moist ocean breezes.

Much of the devastation occurred in Malibu, a community of about 10,000 people on the western edge of Los Angeles known for its stunning bluffs and Zuma Beach, which features in many Hollywood films.

Flames burned near horse farms, celebrities’ seaside mansions, and Pepperdine University, where students were forced to shelter in place on campus for a second night Tuesday.

Faculty members are determining how best to complete the semester, which ends at Pepperdine this week. Final exams were postponed or canceled, depending on the class, university spokesperson Michael Friel said. An early analysis showed little to no damage to structures on campus, the university said.

It’s unclear how the blaze started. Officials said nine structures had been destroyed and at least six others had been damaged, though crews had only surveyed about 25% of the affected area, said Deputy Chief Albert Yanagisawa of the Los Angeles County Fire Department.

Lonnie Vidaurri’s four-bedroom home in the Malibu Knolls neighborhood is one of those destroyed. After evacuating to a hotel in Santa Monica with his wife and two young daughters, a neighbor called to tell Vidaurri that firefighters would need to break into his house.

“It’s pretty torched all around,” said Vidaurri, 53. He expects that the family’s pet bunnies did not survive the fire, and that they lost most of their things. “My girls cried, obviously, but it could have been worse.”

Mimi Teller, a Red Cross spokesperson who worked in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood, said many people arrived in their pajamas and were “definitely in shock.”

“Nobody even had a backpack, it was, ‘Get out now,’” Teller said. “One lady didn’t even have a leash for her dog, she just scooped them up.”

Shawn Smith said he was asleep early Tuesday when someone knocked on his RV at 3 a.m. to wake him up to evacuate the Malibu RV Park.

“You could see the fires rolling in, in over the canyon. It was like ‘Holy crap, this is real,’” he said.

He returned Wednesday to find that the RV park had been saved — firefighters stopped the flames just before they entered the area.

“We got lucky,” he said.

Van Dyke, one of many celebrities with homes in Malibu, said in a Facebook post that he and his wife, Arlene Silver, evacuated as the fire swept in. Although the couple and most of their animals evacuated safely, one of their cats, Bobo, escaped as they were leaving. “We’re praying he’ll be OK and that our community in Serra Retreat will survive these terrible fires,” he wrote.

Cher evacuated from her Malibu home when ordered and is staying at a hotel, her publicist, Liz Rosenberg, said Tuesday.

The fire erupted shortly before 11 p.m. Monday and swiftly moved south, jumping over the famous Pacific Coast Highway and extending all the way to the ocean.

Alec Gellis, 31, stayed behind Monday night to save his home in Malibu’s Serra Retreat neighborhood from the flames. He used pumps in the home’s swimming pool to help spray water over the house and surrounding vegetation, turning the lush area “into a rainforest.”

Gellis said there were flames within 5 feet (1.5 meters) of the home on all sides. “The whole canyon was completely lit up.”

Utilities preemptively shut off power to tens of thousands of homes and businesses, starting Monday night, to mitigate the impacts of the Santa Ana winds, whose strong gusts can damage electrical equipment and spark wildfires.

As of Wednesday afternoon, electricity was still out for roughly 600 Southern California Edison customers, and the majority of those were in Los Angeles County, said utility spokesperson Gabriela Ornelas.

“We have been making significant progress,” she said.

But outages in Malibu were not included in that figure, Ornelas said. Some 3,300 customers in the Malibu area remained without power, due to safety shutoffs and for firefighter safety. Power was first shut off to most customers in Malibu on Monday evening.

The Woolsey Fire that roared through the area in 2018, killing three people and destroying 1,600 homes, was sparked by Edison equipment. Asked Wednesday if Edison equipment was involved in the Franklin Fire, Ornelas referred all questions regarding the cause to fire officials.

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This story has been corrected to show that Shawn Smith lives in an RV, not a mobile home.

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Weber reported from Los Angeles and Aoun reported from San Diego. Associated Press journalists Stefanie Dazio in Los Angeles; Amy Taxin in Orange County, California; Sarah Brumfield in Washington; and Eric Thayer, Damian Dovarganes and Jaimie Ding in Malibu, California, contributed to this report.

Improving weather conditions in Southern California on Wednesday raised officials’ hopes that firefighters could rein in the Franklin Fire, which forced evacuation orders or warnings for 20,000 residents in the Malibu area, including some celebrities, and more than 8,000 homes and businesses.

At its peak, the wildfire that ignited Monday expanded at an alarming rate, consuming an area larger than five football fields per minute and destroying at least nine structures. Some people are confronting the painful reality of lost homes.

Longtime Malibu resident Fred Roberts expressed his alarm at the destruction while checking on a friend’s home.

“I remember playing in this house in the front yard with my schoolmates. That’s how long I’ve been here, my whole life,” Roberts told Reuters this week. “This is a notorious area, winds coming straight down Malibu Canyon like a blowtorch.”

On Wednesday afternoon, Red Flag warnings expired in Southern California as conditions that were favorable for wildfire spread abated. A Red Flag warning means warm temperatures, very low humidity and stronger winds are expected to combine to produce an increased risk of fire.

Officials expressed cautious optimism Wednesday morning that improving weather conditions would help them get the blaze under control.

“We’re far better off this morning than we were in the last 30-plus hours,” Malibu Mayor Doug Stewart said. The city had to move its emergency operations to Calabasas on Tuesday because of the fire threat to City Hall.

Nearly 2,000 firefighters were able to help fight the blaze Wednesday as the weather moderated, and firefighters will start working Thursday to contain the fire in the extremely steep and unaccessible terrain of the Malibu Canyon area, CalFire incident commander Dusty Martin said at a news conference Wednesday night. But it will likely take “a couple of days” to contain the fire, Martin said.

“Getting the citizens back into their homes is our number one priority,” Martin said. “But to do that, we have to make sure that the area is safe, where we can let folks back in.”

Meanwhile, an investigation is underway to determine the cause of the fast-moving inferno, authorities said Wednesday night.

Tens of thousands had lost power in Southern California this week – many because of pre-emptive power shutoffs because of high winds.

Despite the positive weather trends, the Los Angeles County fire chief warned the 12,600 residents under evacuation orders to continue to take the fire seriously.

Mario Tama/Getty Images

“Up until this point, it’s been a wind-driven fire,” Chief Anthony Marrone said. “If the wind changes direction, we’re going to have the fire moving into new areas.”

Fire activity around Pepperdine University’s Malibu campus has decreased, with only small flames remaining as firefighters tackle lingering hot spots, the school alerted at 9:58 p.m. Tuesday. Early assessments show no structural damage or injuries. A shelter-in-place protocol was lifted Wednesday morning, the university announced, and a precautionary power outage on campus ended.

The university has canceled all on-campus finals and announced remaining students would be allowed to leave on Wednesday morning.

In pictures: Franklin Fire burns through Malibu