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Amid windy, dry conditions in Malibu, California, a wildfire grew rapidly, threatening numerous structures and forcing residents to flee.

Called the Franklin FireBy early Tuesday morning, it had burned more than 1.5 square miles near the Pepperdine University campus. The cause of the fire was not immediately known, but Santa Ana winds were responsible for extremely dangerous fire conditions across much of Southern California.

The fire brigade was the first to respond to the fire around 10:45 p.m. local time Monday eveningaccording to KTLA-TV.

(MORE: ‘Extremely dangerous situation’ Santa Ana wind event in SoCal)

Classes at Pepperdine were canceled Tuesday due to the fire and a shelter-in-place order was underway. The evacuation order included about 6,000 people and more than 2,000 buildings, KABC-TV reported, attributing that information to fire officials.

North to northeasterly winds were expected to increase to 30 to 60 mph with gusts up to 65 mph expected, the National Weather Service’s Los Angeles office reported on X.

Power for tens of thousands of people was closed on Monday evening as utilities worked to mitigate its effects Southern California’s infamous Santa Ana windswhose strong gusts can damage electrical equipment and cause forest fires.

The National Weather Service has issued a red flag warning for a high fire risk with a rare “particularly hazardous situation,” or IBS, a designation that begins Monday through Tuesday at 8 p.m. for Los Angeles and Ventura counties.

Information from the Associated Press was used for this report.