Mandatory evacuations issued in parts of Southern California as wildfires spread near Malibu

(LOS ANGELES) — A brush fire that broke out on Monday evening in Malibu Canyon has led to authorities issuing mandatory evacuation orders in parts of southern California as the fire rapidly spread, authorities said.

The fire began approximately 3 miles north of the Pacific Coastal Highway in Malibu, according to an emergency alert issued by the city of Malibu late Monday.

City officials said the Los Angeles County Fire Department is on scene and trying to control the “rapid rate of spread.”

The fire was reported just before 11 p.m. and was initially estimated at just about 10 acres but, In just about one hour, officials estimated it to have grown to at least 100 acres, according to ABC News’ Los Angeles station KABC, and a high volume of dry brush in the area and strong Santa Ana winds means that there is potential for the blaze to continue to spread rapidly.

Evacuations were ordered in the area east of Malibu Canyon Road and south of Piuma Road as well as the Serra Retreat, KABC said.

The fire is currently burning on the hillsides just a few miles away from Pepperdine University but was not immediately encroaching the institution and appeared to be heading south toward Santa Monica, KABC said.

The wildfire was not immediately encroaching on Pepperdine but the university was reporting power outages on campus. It appeared the flames were heading south in the direction of Santa Monica but Pepperdine suspended normal operations on campus on Tuesday.

“Normal operations on the Malibu Campus are suspended for Tuesday,” the university said in a statement on social media. “This includes canceling classes and finals for the day. Critical support personnel should connect with their supervisors about whether they are needed to physically report to the Malibu campus for their regular work shift. All other staff should connect with their supervisors and work remotely if possible. The Pepperdine community continues to shelter in place in Payson Library and the Tyler Campus Center. The Franklin fire has grown to 814 acres and flames are visible from the Malibu campus. There are numerous LA County Fire Department engines on campus and their helicopters are using the lakes in Alumni Park to pick up water to drop on the fire from above.”

“The University understands the worst of the fire has pushed past Pepperdine,” they continued. “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. 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.”

There are no immediate reports of injuries or structure damage and the cause of the fire remains under investigation.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.