A ferocious wildfire was spreading rapidly early Tuesday in Malibu, spurring evacuations along the coast while nearby Pepperdine University issued a campus-wide shelter-in-place order and firefighters struggled to battle the flames.

Students sheltering at the school's library early Tuesday watched as the fire intensified and the sky turned deep red.

No structures were damaged and no one was injured, but students spent a frantic night sheltering in place as thousands of nearby residents evacuated.