Red Flag fire warnings are expected to persist in the Malibu area along the Southern California coast into Wednesday afternoon after the Franklin Fire, which ignited Monday, forced evacuation orders or warnings for 18,000 residents.

At its peak, the wildfire expanded at an alarming rate, consuming an area larger than five football fields per minute and destroying at least seven structures. Some people are confronting the painful reality of lost homes.

Longtime Malibu resident Fred Roberts expressed his alarm at the destruction while checking on a friend’s home.

“I remember playing in this house in the front yard with my schoolmates. That’s how long I’ve been here, my whole life,” Roberts told Reuters. “This is a notorious area. Winds coming straight down Malibu Canyon like a blowtorch.”

“This has been a traumatic 20 hours for the city of Malibu,” Mayor Doug Stewart said in a news conference on Tuesday. As the fire threatened Malibu City Hall, officials moved their emergency operations to Calabasas, he added.

Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone said during a news conference Tuesday evening that “the entire fire area remains under threat.”

“As long as the current red flag conditions persist, strong winds and low humidities will continue to challenge firefighters on the line and in the air as they struggle to contain the stubborn fire,” Marrone said.

Fire activity around Pepperdine University’s Malibu campus has decreased, with only small flames remaining as firefighters tackle lingering hot spots, the school alerted at 9:58 p.m. Tuesday. Early assessments show no structural damage or injuries. The community will remain under shelter-in-place protocols overnight, with updates in the morning.

The university has canceled all on-campus finals and announced that remaining students would be allowed to leave on Wednesday morning.

While strong winds were prevalent late Monday and early Tuesday, conditions began to calm by Tuesday evening. The National Weather Service cautioned that gusty winds are still expected through Wednesday morning, particularly in mountainous areas. The weather service has downgraded high-wind warnings to advisories.

Here’s the latest:

CNN’s Chris Boyette, Lauren Mascarenhas and Elizabeth Wolfe contributed to this report.