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.

The blaze charred at least 1,000 acres — or more than a square mile — and had jumped the Pacific Coast Highway, closing the popular road and setting fire to cars and trees in shopping centre parking lots along the route.

Faculty and staff at the 830-acre Pepperdine campus were urged to evacuate, school spokesman Jerry Derloshon said.

Students had been instructed to gather their belongings from their dorm rooms and report to the school’s cafeteria and basketball arena.

Flames consumed the landmark Castle Kashan, a stately fortress-like home with turrets and arched windows, as about a dozen residents watched from across the street.

Erratic wind gusts hampered efforts to drop water from aircraft and pushed flames toward the Hughes Lab technology research campus, about a mile north of Pepperdine.

Palm trees bent in half and embers were carried through the air as wind gusted to 65 mph. Thick smoke obscured the sun.

Susan Nuttall sat in her black Mercedes in a cul-de-sac just off the Pacific Coast Highway.

“We’re all scared to death and we have nowhere to go,” said Nuttall, 51, still wearing a bathrobe and holding her chihuahua.

The community also is home to about 25 rehabilitation facilities, including Promises Residential Treatment Centre, whose guests have included Brittany Spears, Charlie Sheen, Diana Ross and Matthew Perry.