Wildfire forces hundreds from their homes

A WILDFIRE driven by powerful winds threatened a university and forced the evacuation of hundreds of homes in the Malibu Hills yesterday, authorities said.

Flames destroyed a church and several homes, one of them a landmark castle.

About 500 firefighters worked to protect Pepperdine University and some 200 homes in the upscale Malibu Crest and Serra Retreat neighbourhoods, said Los Angeles County Fire Department Inspector Sam Padilla.