A fire near Southern California’s downtown Malibu is spreading quickly, prompting mandatory evacuations and threatening homes and businesses, including the city’s iconic Malibu Pier. Nearby Pepperdine University canceled classes Tuesday, as students sheltering in place on the school’s Malibu campus watch the flames in the distance.

The Franklin Fire has burned through an area larger than five football fields every minute since igniting late Monday night and burning toward Malibu. The inferno is so intense that it’s altering the weather around it and worsening already extreme conditions.

“The fire is burning so hot that it is modifying the local winds… (and) bending them towards and into the fire,” the National Weather Service in Los Angeles warned Tuesday morning.

Here’s the latest:

– High winds and low humidity are worsening conditions near the fire. Winds are gusting in the 40-mph range and are expected to ramp up around daybreak. Humidity levels are critically low, with values as low as 5%. “Strong and damaging north to northeast winds are expected through at least late Tuesday morning, peaking around daybreak,” a special spot forecast from the weather service reads. “While winds will weaken some during Tuesday afternoon, critical fire weather conditions are very likely to persist into Wednesday.”

– The fire’s footprint grew from 100 acres at 11:54 p.m. Monday to more than 1,800 acres about four hours later, according to the Los Angeles County Fire and CalFire officials – at one point nearly tripling in size in just one hour.

– The Los Angeles County Fire Department issued evacuation orders east of Malibu Canyon Road and South of Piuma Road and the Serra Retreat area, where units are on the ground battling the fire. About 6,000 people and more than 2,000 structures are under evacuation orders, CNN affiliate KABC reported, citing information from fire officials.

– More than 57,000 customers in California are without power, according to PowerOutage.us.

Videos taken at Pepperdine University overnight show people walking around the grounds, the darkness lit by an orange glow as flames blaze in the distance. The university is asking students to shelter in place at the campus library and student center at least through daylight, and the school has canceled classes and finals for the day.

“We’ve been in the library for about six hours, awaiting orders,” Pepperdine University student Nick Gerding told CNN’s John Berman early Tuesday morning. “Ironically, it’s finals week so there was already a lot of people here, but it’s pretty jam-packed. There’s’ about 300 to 400 kids in here and overall.”

Gerding headed to the library after the power went out in his dorm around 11:30 p.m. Monday and he got a call from his roommate saying there was a large fire in the area, he said.

In the packed library, the night was calmer than expected, with some students praying and waiting for occasional updates from the university president, he added.

“There honestly wasn’t much that we could do in that moment, and I feel like we all collectively understood that, so I’m grateful for the non-panic that happened. But it was still very, very scary.”

Fire engines are on campus, where the worst of the fire has now passed but some spot fires remain, the university said.

“All community members on the Malibu campus are directed to shelter in place in the Tyler Campus Center or Payson Library. Despite any evacuation orders from Malibu city or surrounding areas, the University community should follow University instructions,” the university said, noting its plan was approved by the fire department.

The library and student center are “well protected against any type of threat from the brush fire,” Pepperdine public information officer Michael Friel told news outlet KTLA.

The dry air, gusty winds and dry vegetation are creating conditions conducive to new fires quickly spreading out of control, potentially threatening life and property.