When the Franklin Fire​ broke out in Malibu this week, students at Pepperdine University were told to stay put — even as those in neighboring communities fled for their lives. Here's why the school has had this policy in place for decades.

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

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.