Why Pepperdine tells students to stay as wildfires approach — even as the rest of Malibu flees

When the Franklin Fire broke out in Malibu this week, students at Pepperdine University were told to stay put — even as those in neighboring communities fled for their lives. 

Two hours after the wildfire started, the university announced a shelter-in-place order just after 1 a.m. Tuesday, directing students to remain inside two buildings in the center of the campus. From inside one of those buildings, the Payson Library, students watched through a window as the sky lit up in a glowing orange hue and bright red flames tore across a nearby hillside. 

Over the following day, the wildfire grew closer to the university along the Pacific Coast Highway, moving over a ridge as it approached the north end of the campus. Later that evening, the university said "some flames are still visible in small pockets of campus," showing just how close the wildfire had gotten to the school. 

And while others in Malibu evacuated, at the direction of local fire authorities, the school kept its shelter-in-place order.

"I've been hearing from friends that have been stuck in the library, stuck in the cafe all night," said Henry Adams, a Pepperdine student. "It's just been very exhausting. Lot of anxiety, lot of fear."

The order was lifted as of 6:30 a.m. Wednesday morning.

While it's been a longtime policy for wildfires, dating back to the 1990s, Pepperdine's shelter-in-place order has faced criticism in the past — concerns surfacing from parents and students when the Woolsey Fire broke out in November 2018 before exploding in size.

As the massive wildfire quickly tore through thousands of acres, and students were told to stay inside university buildings while the flames grew closer, some in the campus community criticizing the policy said it just didn't seem to make sense.

The wildfire policy was first used by Pepperdine in 1993, former university president Andrew Benton told the student-run campus newspaper, the Pepperdine Graphic, in the days following the Woolsey Fire. He said he developed the policy with other university officials along with the LA County Fire Department, and there was no coordinated wildfire plan at the school before then.

In defending its policy, the university has said certain circumstances — unique to the school's location, construction and other factors — make it the safest possible measure in the event of wildfires. Fire-resistant buildings and concerns over students potentially getting trapped in traffic along the limited number of surrounding roads are among some of the reasons behind it.

"Despite any evacuation orders from Malibu city or surrounding areas, the University community should follow University instructions," Pepperdine said in a post to X this week. "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."

Benton urged students and others not to leave the campus during the Woolsey Fire. "Stay here. You're safe here," he told students huddled inside a university building a day after the blaze broke out.

By the end of it, the wildfire killed three people and destroyed hundreds of homes as it ripped through LA and Ventura counties.

As he spoke to students, Benton said he was "irritated" local fire authorities did not send enough resources over to the school.

"I'm very irritated that fire (authorities) did not anticipate this, did not get assets here, did not realize we were going to have 3,500 people on this campus," Benton said. "And now, they've frightened some of your brothers and sisters out into the roadways, and I don't know where they are."

That last point is part of the reasoning behind Pepperdine's shelter-in-place policy, according to the university. 

"There are a limited number of ways to travel to and from the campus," Pepperdine says on its website. "These roads may be closed, congested, or dangerous as wildfires can travel quickly and change unpredictably. Roads should also remain clear to enable emergency responders to move freely and quickly throughout the area."

Phil Phillips, the school's executive vice president, told the Associated Press that the PCH — which has faced closures during both the Franklin and Woolsey Fires — can become heavily congested during such emergencies. 

"What you don't want is to be stuck," Phillips said. "Protecting our students, providing for their safety is a moral obligation for us, so we take it really, really seriously."

Phillips said the school tapes doors shut and uses air filters at shelter-in-place locations to reduce smoke in these areas, AP reported. The university also clears heavily flammable brush, which can spark and fuel wildfires, at least 200 feet away from buildings and constructs its buildings with fire-resistant materials "whenever possible," according to the university's website.

Campus roads can act as natural fire breaks and the school has fire-resistant landscaping throughout the grounds. Rick Godinez, a retired LA city fire captain whose daughter went to Pepperdine, said some of those features provide solid protections. 

"There are concrete structures less likely to burn as the fire passes through," Godinez said. "Yes, trees and combustible materials are going to burn. But in this case, where these buildings are, there's a lot of defensible space with the athletic fields and areas where the fire is going to move."