Mount Saint Mary's University students evacuate after Getty Fire breaks out near hilltop campus

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Students from Mount Saint Mary's University trekked down Bundy Drive in the dark early Monday morning after flames broke out near their hilltop campus in Brentwood.

The Getty Fire erupted around 1:30 a.m. along the 405 Freeway in the Sepulveda Pass near the Getty Center.

Students were woken up by resident assistants shortly after the wind-driven flames threatened the university. Drivers heading out of the hillside community stopped to offer rides to students who were donning masks and carrying backpacks.

The fire quickly began burning up a hillside near campus.

The blaze exploded to more than 600 acres by noon and has destroyed at least seven homes while threatening thousands more.