Malibu
Malibu Canyon Reopens Confirming In-Person Classes Resume on Tuesday
Officials have reopened Malibu Canyon Road to all traffic. This welcome news confirms the University’s plan to resume in-person classes on Pepperdine’s Malibu campus Tuesday, January 21.
Today, only the John Tyler Drive gate is open for entrance to campus. The Seaver Drive gate will reopen Saturday, January 18. The community is encouraged to continue to use Kanan Dume Road, to PCH, to the John Tyler Drive gate when possible, as refueling for fire trucks and other first responders continues to occur on Malibu Canyon between Seaver Drive and PCH. This refueling operation may slow down southbound Malibu Canyon traffic.
As always, please drive carefully and remain informed about conditions for Pepperdine’s Southern California campuses by utilizing the following resources:
- Information about current road conditions is also available on the Road Condition Hotline at (310) 506-ROAD (7623).
- Greater Los Angeles road conditions can be viewed online at sigalert.com.
Parking On Campus Upon Return This Weekend
The Mountain Parking Structure will open this month. Upon returning to campus, and until the parking structure opens, students, faculty, and staff should continue to park in the parking lots authorized by their current parking permit. The University will message the community with further details about the Structure and accompanying changes to parking protocols before it opens. Remember, SoCalGas is temporarily using much of the Firestone Fieldhouse parking lot to stage operations to restore natural gas to the greater Malibu community.
Pepperdine Launches New Website to Support Wildfire Recovery Efforts
Pepperdine launched a new website, www.pepperdine.edu/wildfire, detailing opportunities for giving, volunteering, ways community members can seek further support, and organizations working in the greater Los Angeles area to provide relief to those most impacted by the recent wildfires.
Fire Weather Watch Next Week
The National Weather Service has issued a Fire Weather Watch advisory for Monday at 10 AM through 10 PM on Tuesday due to northeast winds of 20-30 MPH with gusts up to 50 MPH and low relative humidity. This fire weather watch may be upgraded to a Red Flag Warning over the weekend. These wind predictions are significantly less intense than those from other recent Red Flag Warnings.
Red Flag Warnings are issued several times per year in Southern California to denote windier days, with less humidity present, when the National Weather Service encourages diligent preparations to reduce fire risk. Note: wildfires do not occur during every Red Flag Warning. As is typically the case during Red Flag Warnings, University officials prepare the campus appropriately and expect normal campus operations, including classes, to continue as scheduled.
Additional information regarding Red Flag Warnings is available on the University’s Emergency Information Page.
President’s Briefing Recap #2 – Palisades Fire – January 2025
The President’s Briefing Recap summarizes important information for the Pepperdine community shared during each President’s Briefing. In the second special broadcast for faculty, staff, and students, president Jim Gash (JD ’93) was joined by members of Pepperdine’s Emergency Operations Committee to share their insights on campus operations and community safety in light of the Palisades Fire and other fires in the area.
Return to Campus and Malibu Canyon Reopening Plan
Pepperdine’s Malibu campus plans to resume in-person classes on Tuesday, January 21, for those classes scheduled to be in person this term. Malibu Canyon Road is expected to open in the coming days. Accordingly, students are expected to return to campus or to their off-campus housing locations in advance of Tuesday. In the unlikely event that Malibu Canyon does not open on Tuesday, classes will continue to be held online for that day. President Gash reinforced that these decisions were made with the highest consideration of the health and safety of students, faculty, and staff.
Caruso School of Law Final Exams
Regardless of the status of Malibu Canyon Road, Caruso School of Law final exams scheduled for Tuesday, January 21, will proceed as scheduled. Students should watch for communications from their deans for the most up-to-date guidance.
Current Fire Conditions and Containment
The Palisades Fire does not have active flames, and smoke is no longer visible. While there may be isolated small smoldering patches, fire personnel are focused on the mop-up phase, which requires extinguishing such patches. Fire personnel have created a perimeter around the burn area using bulldozers to separate unburned vegetation from the charred landscape. Throughout the duration of the Palisades fire, none of Pepperdine’s campuses were in an evacuation warning or mandatory evacuation zone and the Malibu campus remains unaffected by the direct impact of the fire.
Air Quality
Air quality at the Malibu campus, as well as at all Pepperdine campuses, continues to score in the healthy range, and AQI scores continue to be “safe” consistent with typical conditions in Malibu. Because Pepperdine was not adjacent to a large number of structure fires in the Palisades, and because the Palisades Fire plume extended over the ocean, Pepperdine’s air quality was not directly impacted.
After the Franklin Fire in December 2024, Pepperdine changed all air filters on campus, and all major air handlers have been vacuumed and wiped clean. The University has also been conducting its own particulate testing to verify AQI scores. Students with respiratory concerns are encouraged to reach out to the Student Care Team with specific needs, and employees should contact Human Resources. N95 masks will be available upon request to anyone on campus.
Gas and Utility Restoration and Boil Water Notices
Pepperdine is hosting SoCalGas in the Firestone Fieldhouse parking lot, which they are using as their incident command center to assist with restoring gas services to Malibu residents. Due to the University’s partnership, service restoration is proceeding ahead of schedule. As of the briefing, SoCalGas had restored gas service to more than 2,000 people in the area, ahead of schedule in part because of their advantageous location on our campus.
Pepperdine’s Malibu campus is not and has never been under a boil water notice, and water remains safe for use.
Mudslide Mitigation
The University is actively working with local experts to mitigate potential mudslides following periods of heavy rain, including surveying the entirety of campus. The University has employed mitigation measures, including cleaning out debris basins and spraying soil glue to keep loose soil from rolling down the hills. The University has also taken extra precautions by employing sandbags and soil reinforcement to ensure the hillside stays intact.
Travel to Campus from LAX
The University is providing some shuttle service from LAX to campus and is currently reviewing responses to the shuttle interest form. Students will be contacted to confirm shuttle availability or to be reminded of alternative transportation options. Students may choose to use other rideshare options such as Uber and Lyft, which are available to the Malibu campus. To help reduce costs, students are encouraged to share their rides when possible.
As a reminder, for residential students returning from the fall semester, access to residence halls has been restored. New residential students should reach out to Housing and Residence Life with any questions. Also, students facing financial challenges should contact the Student Care Team for assistance.
Monitoring Los Angeles Area Fires and Preparing for Next Week – Update #8
The University’s Emergency Operations Committee (EOC) continues to monitor the fires in the greater Los Angeles area. The Palisades Fire is not a threat to Pepperdine’s Malibu campus, its footprint has not changed since Tuesday, there are no active flames along the perimeter, and the Red Flag Warning expired today at 6 PM.
As the University prepares to welcome students on campus for in-person classes on Tuesday, January 21, the EOC continues to monitor conditions on the Malibu campus and within the City of Malibu, the needs of community members, recovery efforts in the local community, and area roadways.
The decision to resume in-person classes on Tuesday is primarily based on a few key factors, which are:
- Working utilities (power, natural gas, water, and internet). All utilities on campus are functioning.
- Air quality. Air quality is not unhealthy even for those who are particularly sensitive, and continues to improve.
- Access to campus. PCH south of campus remains closed and is not expected to reopen in the near future. Malibu Canyon is presently closed but is expected to reopen in the coming days before classes resume on Tuesday.
All of these positive conditions support a resumption of in-person classes on Tuesday, January 21. Thus, both residential and non-residential students enrolled in such classes on the Malibu campus should plan to return to the Malibu area no later than this weekend. In the rather unlikely event Malibu Canyon Road does not open by Monday–due to the unique circumstances created by the Palisades fire–the University will extend the online delivery of all undergraduate classes and the vast majority of graduate school classes scheduled to be in person one day at a time until Malibu Canyon Road is open. The deans from each graduate school will continue to provide more specific guidance. We are excited to welcome residential students back to the Malibu campus (joining the hundreds who are already here) no later than this weekend and will notify the community about the status of Malibu Canyon Road no later than 5 PM on Monday.
Transportation to Campus from LAX
Transportation to campus from LAX is available via ride share (Uber/Lyft) and via PrimeTime Shuttle. Students with financial challenges may contact the Student Care Team for support. Additionally, the University will provide free shuttles for transportation from LAX to the Malibu campus on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday at predetermined times. Students interested in the possibility of University shuttle service should complete the interest form by Thursday at 5 PM. Please note that map applications do not always provide accurate information, often calculating routes far beyond the impacted area.
President’s Briefing
The University will host a special President’s Briefing tomorrow, Thursday, January 16 at 2 PM to further explore these topics and address questions from the community. A link to the briefing will be distributed on Thursday morning to the Pepperdine community.
Curfew
In order to secure areas evacuated due to the Palisades Fire, officials have instituted a curfew from 6 PM to 6 AM in the mandatory evacuation areas. All students, faculty, and staff are reminded to remain out of and off roads within these evacuated areas. The Malibu campus is not under a curfew and individuals are free to move about areas not affected by the curfew.
Staff and Faculty Work Expectations
For the remainder of this week, critical support personnel should continue to report to campus to support basic operations, and all other employees should work with their supervisors to either report to campus or work remotely based on departmental needs. Employees are generally expected to return to normally scheduled work shifts and normal campus operations beginning Tuesday, January 21. Employees impacted by the fires – including those who live in the evacuation zones, or have children whose schools are impacted – should work with their supervisors to adjust work schedules to attend to family or home needs.
Student Support
The University is supporting students who have been impacted by the fires. Students who have lost their off-campus housing and would like to arrange for on-campus housing for the spring semester may contact Housing. Those who have short-term housing or other needs due to fire-related impacts may contact the Student Care Team for assistance, which will coordinate support from the University. We are grateful for the generous donors who help us meet needs like these through the Pepperdine Strong Fund.
The Student Health Center and Counseling Center remain open to care for students. Additionally, medical and mental health support are available through the TimelyCare app. Pastoral care is available from the team at the Hub for Spiritual Life. Contact Tim Spivey, vice president for spiritual life, to make an appointment.
Faculty and Staff Support
The University is also supporting faculty and staff who have been impacted by the fire. Faculty and staff should contact Human Resources, which will coordinate support from the University through resources such as the Pepperdine Strong Fund and other available resources.
Human Resources is also available to help employees, and faculty and staff may access counseling services through their Employee Assistance Program – details are available on the Human Resources website or by contacting Human Resources at 310.506.4397.
Pastoral care is available to faculty and staff. Please contact Dee Dee Mayer, interim university chaplain, to make an appointment.
Monitoring Los Angeles Area Fires – Update #7
The University’s Emergency Operations Committee continues to monitor the fires in the greater Los Angeles area. The Palisades Fire is not presently a threat to Pepperdine’s Malibu campus. The footprint of the Palisades Fire has not materially changed since yesterday, which has burned 23,713 acres and is 17% contained.
The red flag warning remains in place through 6 PM tomorrow with the highest winds predicted between 3 AM to 3 PM tomorrow with gusts of 35-55 miles per hour (MPH). These wind predictions are significantly less intense than those experienced when the Palisades Fire started, during the peak of the red flag warning last week.
Air Quality
Air quality on the Malibu campus is currently good, and the University continues to monitor campus air quality closely. While most people are comfortable and not wearing a mask, N95 masks are available for pickup on campus at the following locations: HAWC, Student Affairs front desk, Payson circulation desk, and at Human Resources.
Additionally, campus buildings have avoided smoke damage, as most smoke from the Palisades fire was blown out to the Pacific Ocean and did not go over the campus. Conditions were significantly different than during the Franklin Fire, which burned into the vegetation on the Malibu campus.
Transportation to Campus from LAX
Transportation to campus from LAX is available via ride share (Uber/Lyft). Additionally, the University will provide shuttles to make airport runs on a designated schedule this weekend. The University will send information to students on how to sign up for shuttle service later this week. Of note, map applications are not always providing accurate information, often calculating routes far beyond the impacted area.
Parking Structure at The Mountain
The Franklin and Palisades fires interrupted work on the parking structure at The Mountain. Even with these delays, due to the hard work of the construction team, the parking structure is still expected to open this month.
Student Support
The University is supporting students who have been impacted by the fires. Students who have lost their off-campus housing and would like to arrange for on-campus housing for the spring semester may contact Housing. Those who have short-term housing or other needs due to fire-related impacts may contact the Student Care Team for assistance, which will coordinate support from the University. We are grateful for the generous donors who help us meet needs like these through the Pepperdine Strong Fund.
The Student Health Center and Counseling Center remain open to care for students. Additionally, medical and mental health support are available through the TimelyCare app. Pastoral care is available from the team at the Hub for Spiritual Life. Contact Tim Spivey, vice president for spiritual life, to make an appointment.
Faculty and Staff Support
The University is also supporting faculty and staff who have been impacted by the fire. Faculty and staff should contact Human Resources, which will coordinate support from the University through resources such as the Pepperdine Strong Fund and other available resources.
Human Resources is also available to help employees, and faculty and staff may access counseling services through their Employee Assistance Program – details are available on the Human Resources website or by contacting Human Resources at 310.506.4397.
Pastoral care is available to faculty and staff. Please contact Dee Dee Mayer, interim university chaplain, to make an appointment.
Pepperdine Emergency Information 
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