A wind-whipped wildfire tore through parched brush in the coastal city of Malibu near Pepperdine University on Wednesday morning, closing a section of the Pacific Coast Highway, officials said. The Broad Fire ignited southwest of the Pacific Coast Highway and South Malibu Canyon Road,

The Pacific Coast Highway is closed in Malibu as firefighters respond to a wildfire driven by powerful dry winds.

California was lashed by powerful winds Wednesday that caused humidity levels to drop and prompted forecasters to warn of the potential for “extreme and life-threatening” wildfires. Los Angeles County Fire Department crews scrambled to contain a small blaze fed by erratic gusts that pushed flames through dry brush at a park along Pacific Coast Highway near Pepperdine University in Malibu.