Pepperdine University is closely monitoring the Camarillo Springs Fire and weather conditions in Southern California. The University’s campuses in Malibu and Westlake Village are not currently threatened by the fire. Pepperdine will continue to remain in close contact with appropriate county and state agencies to ensure the safety of our campus community.

For the latest information regarding road closures, please call: 310-506-ROAD (7623).

At this time, Pepperdine’s Malibu and Westlake Village campuses are not threatened by the Camarillo Springs Fire.  However, we continue to monitor the situation closely, as today is another Red Flag warning day with weather conditions favorable to wild land fire activity.

Pepperdine’s plans to address the risk of wild land fires are well-practiced by experienced staff who have managed brushfire situations in the past.  The University’s Emergency Operations Committee is on standby and has been closely monitoring the Camarillo Springs Fire and has staff resources present at the fire department’s incident command post.  These precautions are routine and precautionary.  Pepperdine enjoys a close and trusted relationship with the fire department and receives the latest accurate information from fire officials in order to make the best decisions to protect our community.  Further, Pepperdine has resources on campus to shelter-in-place community members if a brushfire threatens the Malibu campus.  Further detail about this practice can be found at: http://emergency.pepperdine.edu/shelter-in-place/.

The University’s plans call for early announcements to our community and guests to alert them of necessary precautions to take in the event the campus is threatened.

Multiple agencies are fighting a large brush fire in Ventura County, near the Camarillo grade between Camarillo and Newbury Park. The fire is moving toward Newbury Park south of the 101 Freeway. Evacuations are in effect. Many University employees live in this area of the Conejo Valley, and some of their homes could become affected. If impacted employees need to attend to their families or homes, they should feel free to do so while coordinating with their supervisors. The EOC is monitoring the situation, and we have DPS presence at the fire command post. There is no threat to the Malibu or Westlake Village campuses at this time, however the fire is not under control and strong winds are spreading the fire rapidly.

The National Fire Weather Service has reported a Red Flag Warning for all of the mountains of Los Angeles and Ventura Counties from 5 a.m. Wednesday until 5 p.m. Friday, May 3. In the Santa Monica Mountains Malibu area, the Red Flag will be in effect from 8 p.m. Wednesday through 5 p.m. Friday, with the strongest Northwest gusty winds up to 55 m.p.h. and low relative humidities possibly reaching the single digits. Coastal area temperatures are expected within the high 80′s and low 90′s between Thursday and Friday.

While the winds are expected to subside on Friday, very warm temperatures and low humidities will continue and Red Flag Warnings may need to be extended over part or all areas of Los Angeles and Ventura Counties into the weekend.

Red Flag warnings issued by the National Weather Service identify time periods when conditions are ideal for wildfires. During Red Flag warnings it is especially important to:

• Report any signs of smoke immediately to emergency responders. If on the Malibu campus call Public Safety at (310) 506-4441. At all other locations report smoke by calling 911.
• Use caution when disposing of cigarettes and ensure that they are completely extinguished.
• Minimize any use of open flame in outdoor settings.

Pepperdine Public Safety is monitoring the situation and is prepared to respond to potential wildfires. Additional information regarding Red Flag warnings and Pepperdine’s wildfire response plans is available on the University’s Emergency Information Page, http://emergency.pepperdine.edu, and in the Emergency Preparedness Guide found in WaveNet beginning on page 14.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) reports that “All the available information continues to indicate Hawaii, Alaska, the U.S. Territories, and the U.S. West Coast are not expected to experience any harmful levels of radioactivity,” despite the reports of low concentrations of radioactive particles heading eastward from Japan.

On April 8, the World Health Organization (WHO) stated that there are no radiation related health risks to individuals outside of Japan. Additionally, the Centers for Disease Control remains confident that there will be no serious health consequences here in the U.S.

The U.S. continues to monitor the situation through Radnet, a system of 100 radiation monitors overseen by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Pepperdine University officials are also following developments for any changes. Additional information is available from the resources below:

• The California Department of Public Health has opened a phone hotline to address concerns regarding local radiation exposure. The hotline is (916) 341-3947.
• The Centers for Disease Control has also opened a line for those with questions (800) CDC-INFO or (800) 232-4696. Additional information is available on their web site http://emergency.cdc.gov/radiation/.
• The World Health Organization www.who.int
• The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission http://www.nrc.gov/
• The Environmental Protection Agency http://www.epa.gov/radiation/
• Southern California Air Quality Management District http://www.aqmd.gov/news1/2011/Radiationmonitoring.htm
• EPA link to common sources of radiation exposure in everyday life (please scroll to the bottom of the page) http://www.epa.gov/rpdweb00/understand/perspective.html

State and federal health officials do not believe that radiation from Japan will create a harmful health threat to the U.S. west coast. Nevertheless, Pepperdine University officials are closely monitoring the situation for any changes. The U.S. Department of Energy has activated the National Atmospheric Release Advisory Center to determine how the radiation would disperse in the atmosphere from Fukushima, and we are following that progress. At this time there are no indications of a risk to the U.S. west coast. Pepperdine remains poised and prepared to respond to various types of emergencies; we maintain food, water, medical, and other supplies for use in an emergency, and our staff practices emergency response. We communicate widely to our student community so that all should know how and where to get instructions during emergencies. Please see our emergency webpage at emergency.pepperdine.edu for further information.

Due to a lightning strike, an unexpected regional power outage occurred at approximately 11:15 a.m., which included Pepperdine’s Malibu and Westlake Village campuses. Power was restored to both campuses at approximately 11:50 a.m. Southern California Edison does not expect further interruptions from this situation. Roughly 90,000 customers were impacted. At this time power has been restored for roughly half of those customers.

While maintenance related power outages had been scheduled in the Malibu area, they were canceled due to the approaching storm and were not related to this incident.

For further information on how you should respond and how the University responds to Power Outages please see the University’s Emergency Information Page at: http://emergency.pepperdine.edu/power-outages/.

Contact the Office of Insurance & Risk at (310) 506-4410 with any questions.