While most Malibu residents evacuated the city in the wake of todayís fires, Pepperdine University faculty, staff and students stayed on-campus in the center of Malibu.
Under the guidance of Pepperdineís Emergency Operations Center (EOC), they relocated from their houses and resident halls to Pepperdineís Tyler Campus Center and Firestone Fieldhouse at approximately 8 a.m.
Students and faculty gathered in the cafeteria and gymnasium with a view of flames looming above the north side of the campus, smoke and ashes carried by strong wings thick in the air.
Emergency teams evacuated university faculty first because faculty homes on Baxter Drive were in the greatest danger. Pepperdineís Residential Emergency Response Team, spearheaded by Pepperdineís Housing and Community Living Department, moved students from lower residence halls shortly after.
Emergency officials made sure no one left designated safety areas once students arrived. To combat anxiety, the university provided food and held a Sunday church service in the cafeteria. President Andrew Benton also spoke, assuring students of Pepperdine campusí safety.
ìIt was mostly quiet [in the cafeteria], not a whole lot of screaming,î said resident advisor Mackenzie Coffin, who was responsible for gathering and accounted for her dorm during the relocation. ìA couple of people were crying anxiety tears, but Pepperdine handled it so well.î
At 11:30 a.m. students were released for 45 minutes to collect books in their rooms. By 2 p.m. students were allowed back to their dorms and strongly cautioned to stay on campus.
Though no injuries were reported, thick smoke required a team from the Pepperdine health center to also respond and relocate. Director of the Student Health Center Nancy Safinick stood next to a table of syringes, paperwork, Band-Aids and an oxygen machine, cleaning up with her team around 3 p.m.
ìWe treated the usual—shortage of breath, asthma flare-ups, eye irritation. Anyone with pre-existing breathing problems might become worse if they breathe smoke,î Safinick, said.
Safinick and her team treated students in the Fireside Room, a conference room adjacent to the cafeteria, which quickly turned into a medical facility and an overflow room, as crowds of students spilled in from the cafeteria with nowhere else to sit.
Most students only required face-masks that the RERT team handed out.
Despite crowds, smoke and nearby brushfires, Pepperdine officials insisted that the campus was the safest place to be.
ìWe have tested communication systems and plans on-campus,î said Lyric Hassler, a senior public relations advisor for Pepperdine. ìCampus landscaping is fire retardant.î
Hassler added that Pepperdine has 10 to 15 days worth of food supplies.
Luke Bost, a resident director and member of the RERT, said it would be unwise to allow students to scatter, especially considering that fires had hit Pacific Coast Highway and could change anytime.
ìSome people donít understand the importance of staying on campus,î Bost said.
Despite strong warnings, many students did leave campus and ventured south on the highway through Kanan Dume.
ìI have something I have to drop off in Thousand Oaks today really bad,î said senior Alicia Mulholland, while driving through Kanan Dume. ìIím from Westlake and want to spend the night at home.î
Damages limited on campus
The campus suffered only minor damage from the fire.
Three university vehicles burned down in the Chapel parking lot, some vegetation was burned due to spot fires near the Tyler Campus Center and a pool house in Baxterís faculty housing was damaged, according to Public Safety officer Ed Young.
Winds and anxieties seemed to have died down by the evening.
ìThere is ash still raining in the immediate vicinity, but the wind is not as strong as had been,î said JB Bre, a member of Pepperdineís IT department who assisted the emergency response program.
Students received flashlights for cyclical blackouts and rested in the assurance that classes are cancelled tomorrow.