Pepperdine canceled classes for the day and students were ordered to shelter-in-place again.
MALIBU, Calif. (KABC) -- Firefighters are battling a brush fire in Malibu near Pepperdine University, prompting evacuations amid dangerous fire conditions due to Santa Ana winds and low humidity.
The Franklin Fire was reported just before 11 p.m. Monday in the area of Malibu Canyon Road north of Pacific Coast Highway. It started at just about 10 acres but has since grown to 4,031 acres.
As flames could be seen from the campus, officials issued a campus-wide shelter-in-place order that was later lifted. Pepperdine canceled classes and finals for the day on Tuesday. Power to tens of thousands of people was shut off as utilities worked to mitigate the impacts of the winds, whose strong gusts can damage electrical equipment and spark wildfires.
At least seven structures were reported destroyed and another nine damaged as of Wednesday morning.
A real-time map provided by fire officials showed the perimeter and evacuation areas of the massive Franklin Fire.
The map on the Los Angeles County Fire Department website reflected the mandatory evacuation order that covered the area east of Malibu Canyon Road and south of Piuma Road, as well as the Serra Retreat area.
A preliminary aerial assessment estimates that seven structures have been destroyed and eight structures damaged, L.A. County Fire Department Chief Anthony C. Marrone said at a news conference Tuesday evening.
Pepperdine University lifted a shelter in place protocol Tuesday morning. At 4:30 p.m., students were ordered again to shelter in the campus center or library.
"Fire activity around Pepperdine's Malibu campus has greatly diminished as the Franklin Fire has burned through most of the fuel immediately surrounding campus, but some flames are still visible in small pockets of campus," the university said on its website.
There has been "little to no damage" to structures around campus.
Fire officials said the evacuation order area encompassed about 6,000 people and more than 2,000 structures. The evacuation warning area covered 12,500 people and more than 6,000 structures.
Mandatory evacuations
Evacuation warnings
MAP: Franklin Fire in Malibu evacuations
Road closures
Soft closures: Open only to residents with identification
Hard closures:
Related story: Malibu fire road closures
Evacuation centers
Firefighters have managed to gain some ground and get the Franklin Fire 7% contained. The Santa Ana winds that fueled the flames when it started Monday night have significantly weakened, but the dangerously low humidity levels remain a concern.
The Franklin Fire in Malibu has scorched 3,893 acres, according to Cal Fire. The fire remains 0% contained and evacuation orders and warnings remain in place.
As flames from the Franklin Fire ripped through Malibu, some residents were thankful they took extra steps to protect their homes in advance.
Rosie Rains just recently had her trees trimmed and brush cleared from her home's yard. But she had also already taken steps like putting safer pre-burnt wood on her roof and building a firetruck turnaround in her yard.
The result: Her home was spared by the flames.
Not everyone has taken such steps, and that has her worried.
"There are a lot of people up here that don't do that," she said. "You're only as safe as what your neighbors are doing."
New satellite images show a spectacular vantage point of the Franklin Fire in Malibu.
The satellite images from Maxar Technologies shows firefighting airplanes and helicopters working to protect homes. One image shows a color contrast between areas that have been burned and those that were spared in the fire's path of destruction.
