As a wildfire erupted, Malibu was told to evacuate. Why were students at Pepperdine told to stay put? | California

As thousands of residents fled a roaring wildfire ripping through Malibu’s mountainsides on Monday, Pepperdine University students stayed put.

Howling winds spit embers into the trees of the Christian college’s picturesque campus and the skies cast an ominous orange and red haze as students gathered in two buildings in the center of campus.

It’s strategy that has long-served the college, which is nestled into a fire-prone area in the foothills overlooking the Pacific. For years, administrators have instructed students not to leave the sprawling 830-acre school, even when mandatory evacuation orders are issued for the surrounding community.

“The plans we have in place are based on a lot of experience in this area,” Pepperdine spokesperson Micheal Friel told KTLA, a local news station, in the early hours of Tuesday morning. Friel explained that students were hunkered down in two buildings at the center of campus while LA county fire department engines stationed at the school battled the encroaching flames. Aircraft also dipped into a lake on the grounds to fight the fire from above.

“We are protecting our students – that’s first and foremost our top priority.”

Escape routes from the school would require quick navigation of winding canyon roads that can become chaotic and congested during evacuations. In previous fires, traffic jams slowed egress to a crawl, and some spent hours trying to leave the area.

Instead, the school has invested in fire-proofing its buildings and landscaping rather than encouraging the roughly 7,600 students, many without vehicles, to enter the fray.

“Pepperdine University’s Malibu campus is designed with fire safety in mind, including defensible space and fire-resistant materials,” Gash added. “Regular drills and active communication channels ensure the safety of the community during emergencies.

Inhalers and N-95 masks are on hand in campus medical centers and an administrative building is equipped with generators and emergency communications equipment. Steel-framed structures are decorated in glass and ceramic or covered in stucco and shaped to limit embers from reaching into eaves.

The school also boasts annual brush clearing at least 200ft from campus buildings and extending firebreaks, and collaborates with the Los Angeles county fire department to ensure plans are safe. That’s why, school officials claim, they maintain “a strong presence on campus during a fire”.

The strategy hasn’t always gone without criticism, including in the aftermath of the devastating Woolsey blaze in 2018.

During the fire – which left more than 1,600 structures destroyed and three people dead – there was confusion among emergency officials about whether students should ignore the mandatory evacuation orders issued for others living in the area.

Nearby residents accused the school of using the policy to keep county firefighting resources close.

Daryl Osby, then the LA county fire chief, said at the time of there were “some failures of communication”. Ultimately though, he agreed that sheltering in place was the right plan for Pepperdine.

School officials have strongly disputed the accusations of residents, arguing that the tactic is what best serves their student community.

So far, it’s worked well.

“There has been little damage to campus structures and no reports of injuries among students, faculty, or staff,” Pepperdine’s president and CEO Jim Gash said in a written statement issued by the school on Tuesday.

Asked to comment on the shelter-in-place policy on Tuesday, school officials pointed to an official statement emphasizing Pepperdine’s fire-safety design, that relies on defensible space, building with fire-resistant materials, and regular drills that keep the campus safe.

Pepperdine is no stranger to fire dangers, grappling with incidents at least five times in the last three decades, and at this point the plan is well-practiced.

When the Franklin fire ignited just before 11pm local time on Monday night, Pepperdine initiated a command center on campus and called its emergency operations committee, according to Gash.

Students and school residents were called on to gather at the Payson library and Tyler campus center. Videos and photos show the windows of the library shrouded in smoke with flames that can be seen licking the surrounding slopes.

“It’s scary being this close to a wildfire, especially with the high winds we are experiencing – you know it can change at any minute,” Pepperdine University journalism student Gabrielle Salgado said during a local news report from inside the library at about 1am.

The fire, which raced across more than 2,200 acres by Tuesday morning, would claim nearby homes but an official tally of the destruction has not yet been released. The school, meanwhile, lifted its shelter in place order. Just hours after the sun rose, the danger, officials said, had passed.

Classes were canceled and finals postponed, as Gash emphasized that the school continues to focus on student well-being. “The safety and security of our students, faculty, and staff remain our highest priorities,” he said. “We will do everything in our power to continue to support them in the days ahead.”