Southern California is under siege as a terrifying and deadly inferno is fueled by the wrath of hurricane-force wind gusts. More than 200,000 people are under some sort of evacuation statement at this time as multiple uncontained wildfires consume everything in their path.

The evacuation to a downtown hotel was done “out of an abundance of caution,” as the Sunset Fire north of the city crept closer to its campus on Sunset Boulevard, Emerson president Jay Bernhardt wrote in the letter sent Thursday to the college community.