The residence halls had lost powerbet88, and cell service was not working. Embers had sparked tiny flare-ups on the school grounds, setting palm trees ablaze. Helicopters were descending to extract water from a campus pond.

And so the students gathered, many in their pajamas, in the library and in the campus center where the windows framed a distressing sight: Flames ravaging the mountains in the not so far distance; smoke spiraling in the dark sky.

They called their parents. They prayed.

So went early Tuesday morning for nearly 3,000 students, faculty members and staff members at Pepperdine University, a Christian school in Malibu known for its bucolic setting of rolling hills and ocean views.

It has also enabled many more people to eat meat more often than ever before, which has in turn put pressure on governments to both keep meat prices affordable and reduce its climate hoofprint.

Now some Democratic lawmakers, tax watchdogs and climate activists are raising concerns that the Internal Revenue Service, tasked with verifying fossil-fuel industry claims on stored carbon, lacks adequate safeguards to ensure that no companies are taking more taxpayer dollars than they qualify for. And they are equally frustrated that the I.R.S. and the Environmental Protection Agency rely on the companies’ own reported data.

Around them, the Franklin fire, fueled by fierce winds, ravaged the Santa Monica Mountains and forced thousands of people to evacuate from Malibu — the famed affluent coastal enclave that boasts picturesque beaches and celebrity homeowners. Schools were closed, and residents were ordered to stay away.

The blaze also shut down a portion of the Pacific Coast Highway, a key artery in and out of the city, as flames leaped across it and threatened the Malibu Pier, a popular tourist attraction. By early Wednesday, the wildfire had burned nearly 3,900 acres, and officials said that gusts as strong as 60 miles per hour had created challenges for the more than 700 firefighters trying to contain the fire.

“But rest assured, we are going to have a coordinated air and ground assault on this fire for as long as it takes,” the Los Angeles County fire chief, Anthony C. Marrone, said on Tuesday.

We are having trouble retrieving the article content.

Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.

Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.

Thank you for your patience while we verify access.

Already a subscriber? Log in.

Want all of The Times? Subscribe.bet88