Once again, thousands of residents in the Southern California city of Malibu were forced to evacuate their homes as a late-season wildfire fueled by strong winds swept through the area.

The fire exploded overnight under a red flag, creating what forecasters called a “particularly dangerous situation.” It led to the evacuation of at least 6,000 people and prompted Pepperdine University to issue a shelter-in-place order.

The Franklin Fire, which started around 10:45 p.m. PT, burned 2,200 acres in the early hours of Tuesday. According to KABC-TV, more than 2,000 buildings were in the path of the bushfire. It was unclear how many homes had already been affected, but a city spokesman told the broadcaster it was “certain that some homes will definitely be severely damaged.”

Around 3 a.m., the fire spread south along the Pacific Coast Highway and into the Malibu Pier area. Road closures were announced on Malibu Canyon Road, which stretches from the hills to the coast.

Tankers were sent to pour water on the fire, according to ABC 7 reporter Drew Tuma. Tuma pointed out that Cal Fire, the state’s fire department, can send all of its assets to the city because the Franklin Fire is currently the only wildfire in the state.

The Red Cross opened an evacuation center at the Palisades Recreation Center and animal shelters opened in Woodland and Agoura Hills.

The cause of the fire was initially unknown. There have been no reports of injuries so far.

The Los Angeles County Fire Department said it would hold a news conference on the fire at 8 a.m. local time.

The City of Malibu announced that schools in Malibu are closed until further notice for safety reasons.

“Authorities are urging residents and visitors to stay away from the area as the fire remains a significant threat,” it warned.

Pepperdine, which houses about 7,600 students, said its students and staff continued to shelter in place at Payson Library and the Tyler Campus Center. The school said power was out across much of the campus and in Malibu and that it was expected to be out for the “foreseeable future.”

The school also postponed its final exams, which were scheduled for Tuesday before winter break. The university’s academic calendar said residents should leave their on-campus accommodation 24 hours after their final final exam, but could do so no later than 9 a.m. Friday morning

About 62,575 customers were without power statewide, most of them in Southern California, according to outage tracker PowerOutage.US. Electric utility Southern California Edison previously said it was considering shutting off power to more than 250,000 homes and businesses in seven counties starting Monday evening. San Diego Gas & Electric said it has notified nearly 117,500 customers that they may temporarily lose service.

Unfortunately, Cal Fire reported that Red Flag Warnings were in effect through Wednesday afternoon due to Santa Ana winds and extremely low humidity. Santa Anas are dry and warm northeasterly winds that blow toward the coast from the interior of the region and typically occur during the months of fall through spring.

Los Angeles weather officials said there were gusts ranging from 73 to more than 90 miles per hour in some areas.

Last month, the mountain fire forced the evacuation of Camarillo, less than an hour away. This fire destroyed hundreds of homes.

In 2018, Malibu was devastated by the Woolsey Fire, which burned or damaged the homes of many major celebrities, including singer Miley Cyrus, actor Liam Hemsworth and actor Gerard Butler.

Climate change has created weather patterns that favor fires, UC Riverside researchers said earlier this year.

The Associated Press contributed to this report