Latest Event Updates
Important Campus Updates #6
The Deans of Seaver College and the Caruso School of Law have communicated with students regarding the disposition of finals and the plans in place to support academic completion of the Fall 2024 term. If you have any questions about your academics, contact your Dean’s office.
Based on the information received from Deans, some students may choose to leave campus and return home at this time. If you plan to leave campus for the remainder of the term, please note the following important reminders:
- You may only leave campus via John Tyler Drive, turning right onto Pacific Coast Highway, continuing north on Pacific Coast Highway, or taking Kanan Dume Road to the 101 freeway.
- Once you leave campus, law enforcement will likely prevent you from returning to campus until roadways are officially reopened. This may take several days depending on conditions. This also applies to students currently off campus looking to return to gather belongings.
- HRL staff and student leaders are required to remain on campus until officially released by HRL leadership. Your role is critical to assisting with end-of-term checkouts, the University’s emergency response plans, and ensuring a smooth transition for student residents. Please stay in contact with your supervisor.
While we are in regular communication with Southern California Edison (SCE), it remains unknown when power will be restored to the Malibu campus. SCE reports they must inspect their circuits before they can restore power, and need confirmation from response agencies that roads and conditions are safe before inspections can begin.
In the event power remains off on the Malibu Campus at 4:30 PM today, students still on campus will once again be required to shelter in place in Payson Library or the Tyler Campus Center. Please follow instructions from HRL staff at that time and relocate to one of these locations. These areas will remain operational with food, water, power, communications, and staff throughout the night.
Also, please note that additional fire flare-ups are possible, and first responders continue to respond to those as needed.
Logistics Update (Update #5)
Thank you for your continued partnership, including remaining on campus, as we support the first responders in their continued efforts to address spot fires on our campus and the more challenging circumstances in the surrounding community. The Malibu campus still does not have power or an estimate for when power will be restored, though several buildings on campus continue to operate on generator power (including Payson Library and the Tyler Campus Center).
Lunch and dinner will be served free of charge for the entire Pepperdine community on campus during the following hours in Waves Cafe. No other campus dining locations are open at this time.
Lunch: 10:30am – 1:00pm
Dinner: 5:00pm – 7:00pm
Currently, two shuttles are running on campus to assist with movement.
As the EOC continues to monitor conditions, the Deans of each school will update students early this afternoon regarding finals.
A Message from President Gash Regarding the Franklin Fire
To the Pepperdine Community—
When we are tested, we lean on our faith, rely upon our planning, and rally alongside one another. I am grateful that through prayer, preparation, and cooperation, our Pepperdine community safely navigated the challenges encountered over the last 12 hours, and our prayers continue to go out to the Malibu community.
Last night at 10:49 PM, a fire was reported in Malibu Canyon a few miles from Pepperdine’s campus. As we do in these situations, Pepperdine immediately constituted its Emergency Operations Committee (EOC), and we established an on-campus command center in the Seaver Board Room. Over the next hour, what would come to be known as the Franklin Fire spread and became visible from campus, with spot fires affecting some parts of the campus itself. While campus is no longer threatened, the fire has now grown to more than 2,200 acres as fire crews continue to battle the flames to protect communities.
As the fire began to approach campus, Pepperdine’s EOC, in coordination with the Los Angeles County Fire Department, implemented the University’s well-practiced and historically proven successful shelter-in-place protocol on the Malibu campus that directed students to relocate to Payson Library and the Tyler Campus Center. Our campus, thoughtfully designed and maintained with fire safety in mind, has proven to be a secure place for our community during wildfires affecting the Malibu campus. Thankfully, there has been little damage to campus structures and no reports of injuries among our students, faculty, or staff.
As my wife and daughter Joline and Jennifer arrived at the Tyler Campus Center last night, they joined our students as they assembled together, supporting each other and lifting one another up in prayer. As I moved back and forth between the command center and the shelter locations, I was encouraged by the unwavering dedication of our faculty and staff in offering guidance and comfort to our students and to each other during this stressful time. In those moments, the strength of our community was on full display, and I am so proud of the calm resilience of our Pepperdine family.
We are profoundly grateful to the heroic firefighters and emergency personnel working tirelessly throughout the night to protect the lives and property at Pepperdine and in Malibu. We also extend our deepest appreciation to our students, faculty, and staff for their cooperation and camaraderie during this unexpected challenge.
To prioritize the well-being of our Malibu community, Tuesday classes on the Malibu campus were canceled and finals postponed. The leaders of each school will soon be communicating their plans for the rest of the week. The safety and security of our students, faculty, and staff remain our highest priorities, and we will do everything in our power to continue to support them in the days ahead. We encourage students who feel they may need support to contact the Student Health Center (310.506.4316, option 3) and the Counseling Center (310.506.4210), where medical staff and counselors remain available.
We ask for your continued prayers in the coming days—prayers for the safety of those in the fire’s path, strength and endurance for our local first responders, and abiding peace for all those affected.
As we emerge from this challenge, we will remain rooted in faith, leaning on one another, and serving our Malibu community together with God’s help.
Jim Gash
President and CEO
Shelter in Place Lifted (Update #4)
After assessing campus conditions at daybreak, the EOC is lifting the shelter-in-place protocol. Campus conditions are safe for members of the community to return to student residences and on-campus homes. The community is strongly encouraged to remain on campus and stay off Malibu roads as first responders continue to respond to the Franklin fire, which continues to threaten Malibu. Additionally, be aware of ongoing fire suppression efforts on campus, and limit driving on campus to allow first responders easy access to spot fires which continue to flare up around campus.
Power remains out for much of the campus and Malibu area – avoid using elevators. The red flag warning continues as gusty winds remain. If conditions worsen, we may have to reinstitute our shelter-in-place protocols.
Area roads remain impacted by the fire, including:
- Malibu Canyon Road remains closed from Mulholland Drive to PCH;
- PCH is closed from Topanga Canyon Boulevard to Kanan Dume Road;
- PCH westbound from John Tyler is open, but any vehicle that leaves campus in that direction will not be able to return as PCH is closed eastbound; and
- Topanga Canyon Boulevard, which is closed to all but local traffic.
Pepperdine Emergency Information 
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