Pepperdine University students woke up to an alarming notification about the nearby Franklin Fire. The private Los Angeles County, California, university overlooks the Pacific Coast Highway and Malibu, which were gravely impacted by the brush fire on December 9 and 10, 2024. So far, 2,200 acres of land have been burned at the time of publication.
During the early morning hours of December 10, Pepperdine’s campus tweeted that the university was in its “shelter-in-place protocol.”
“All community members on the Malibu campus are directed to shelter in place in the Tyler Campus Center or Payson Library,” the school tweeted. “Despite any evacuation orders from Malibu city or surrounding areas, the University community should follow University instructions. We do not evacuate the campus even when surrounding areas might – this shelter-in-place protocol is approved by LA County Fire and executed with their cooperation.”
See all updates from Pepperdine University amid the Malibu fire, below.
Pepperdine Canceled Classes
On December 10, Pepperdine’s X account announced that all classes and normal operations were “suspended” for the full day on Tuesday.
“Normal operations on the Malibu Campus are suspended for Tuesday,” one tweet from the university read. “This includes canceling classes and finals for the day. Critical support personnel should connect with their supervisors about whether they are needed to physically report to the Malibu campus for their regular work shift. All other staff should connect with their supervisors and work remotely if possible.”
The announcement also pointed out that the Franklin fire had “grown to 814 acres and flames are visible from the Malibu campus.”
“There are numerous L.A. County Fire Department engines on campus and their helicopters are using the lakes in Alumni Park to pick up water to drop on the fire from above,” Pepperdine added.
Was Pepperdine Burned?
The entirely of Pepperdine University’s campus is still intact. The school acknowledged in one tweet that there were “smaller spot fires on campus that [were] not threatening life or structures, and fire resources remain on campus to address these spot fires as they occur.”
“Additionally, power remains out for much of Malibu and therefore, to ensure the safety of our community, we will maintain the shelter-in-place protocol until at least daylight. The EOC will continue to update the community,” Pepperdine added in an X update.
When Will Pepperdine Reopen?
Since the Franklin fire continues to ravage most of Malibu, it’s unclear when Pepperdine will resume classes. The reopening should occur when the L.A. Fire Department manages to contain most of the fire.
“After assessing campus conditions at daybreak, the university is lifting the shelter-in-place protocol,” Pepperdine tweeted later in the morning of December 10. “Campus conditions are safe for members of the community to return to student residences and on-campus homes.”
The university encouraged its students 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, ongoing fire suppression efforts on campus continue, and residents are encouraged to limit driving on campus to allow first responders to respond to spot fires which continue to flare up around campus,” Pepperdine added in its tweet. “Power remains out for much of the campus and Malibu area. The red flag warning continues as gusty winds remain. If conditions worsen, we may have to reinstitute our shelter in place protocol.”
