In summary
After the LA fires prompted several colleges and universities to close or move to remote operations last week, several are resuming from winter break this week with online instruction and resources for students, employees and surrounding communities.
Colleges and universities across Los Angeles County are adapting to the ongoing impacts of several deadly, destructive fires, including the Palisades fire on the west side of LA and the Eaton fire to the east in Altadena. Several campuses have closed, reopened or moved instruction online throughout last week and this week. With many campuses returning from winter break this week, students, staff and administrators are grappling with a challenging start to their new academic term and devastation in their communities.
Additionally, some campuses are providing resource hubs, for their own students and employees as well as their surrounding communities. The Federal Emergency Management Agency has set up disaster recovery centers at Pasadena City College and UCLA, which are serving as one-stop-shops for resources.
Campuses close, classes move online
Several colleges and universities, including Pasadena City College, UCLA, Pepperdine University and Occidental College, either temporarily closed campuses or moved to remote instruction.
Pasadena City College, which was in the middle of its winter intersession when the Eaton fire broke out, closed both of its campuses from Jan. 8-12, according to campus-wide emails. The college resumed in-person instruction Monday.
Superintendent and President José Gómez sent an email describing the community hub that has been created in a parking lot on the main campus. Several organizations, including the YMCA of Metropolitan Los Angeles, the Pasadena Unified School District, the Young 9 Foundation, the Pasadena Humane Society and the Rotary Club of Pasadena, have been helping sort donations and distribute essential supplies like food, water and clothing to thousands who have been affected. On Sunday, the college provided a meeting space for first responders and government officials to answer community questions.
“I think this is a great testament to how committed our leaders are and also seeing all the community members coming together to donate and support,” said Student Trustee Irene Wong. “It’s been really heartwarming and hopeful to see the community come together for those in need.”
The college will continue to provide free meals with World Central Kitchen through Jan. 15 and has established a Community Relief Fund for those affected. There is also a tech lending program for students and staff who need access to laptops and Wi-Fi.
On the west side of the county, Santa Monica College closed its seven campuses from Jan. 8-12. All but one re-opened Monday. The Malibu campus remains closed with staff working remotely and instruction taking place online after the area was evacuated due to the Palisades fire. Santa Monica Police Department is using a parking lot at the Performing Arts Center campus as a temporary command post to support nearby firefighting operations. The college website lists several resources that students can access, including hotel rooms, meals and mental health resources. Santa Monica College has also established a Disaster Support Fund.
All nine campuses in the Los Angeles Community College District closed from Jan. 9-11, with staff working remotely and instruction moved online, due to concerns about air quality, safety and increased traffic. Campuses returned to in-person classes Monday, though students and employees can request accommodations if they need them.
Aracely Aguiar, president of Los Angeles Pierce College in the San Fernando Valley, said, “we’re being flexible, because we know that many of the faculty members and the students could have been impacted.”
Aguiar said that several Pierce faculty have lost homes in the fires, and the Foundation for the LACCD is fundraising to support the district’s staff and students who are affected. The Pierce campus is also serving as an animal evacuation center for the Palisades fire, housing more than 200 horses and other large animals.
When Eva Lemmon, a freshman at UCLA, first heard the news of the LA fires, it felt like her freshman year of high school, when she heard school was going online due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It kind of reminded me of when we went into quarantine,” Lemmon said. “I think everybody was very disoriented, especially because school had just started.”
The winter quarter began at UCLA on Jan. 6, but will remain online through Jan. 17.
UCLA is not in the evacuation zone of the Palisades fire, but in a letter from Chancellor Julio Frenk, the switch to remote instruction is to prioritize the community’s “safety and wellness.”
Lemmon grew up in L.A., attending middle and high school in the Pasadena area. Lemmon has left the UCLA campus for now and is at her parents’ Manhattan Beach home.
“(L.A. is) my favorite place in the world,” Lemmon said. “So many places that I used to hang out in middle school, high school, places that I would go hiking out in West LA — it’s insane to me to think that these places are gone. It’s just going to feel so different, even if it’s rebuilt.”
According to UCLA’s website, the university’s Economic Crisis Response Team is providing resources to students displaced by the fires. It is also providing temporary housing to employees who have lost their homes.
Occidental College in northeast Los Angeles is currently not in the Eaton fire evacuation zone. However, the campus was temporarily closed from Jan. 8-12 due to its proximity to the fire. The campus reopened Monday and classes will resume in-person on Jan. 21 for the spring semester.
Logan Morris, a third-year student at Occidental College, was visiting home in the Bay Area for winter break when she first heard about the fires. Her initial reaction was mixed — fear for what her future at the school would look like and grief for those in the LA area.
“What if I don’t have a school to go back to?” she said.
Now, as a member of the LA community, she wants to do what she can to help when she returns.
“I do feel very connected with LA and want to help the best that I can,” Morris said. “I want to help bring back what makes LA, LA I want to be able to be a part of seeing it come back to life.”
The Palisades Fire is 2.5 miles away from Pepperdine University’s campus in Malibu and, according to the university’s website, the fire does not pose a threat to the campus. Classes resumed from winter break online on Monday and will continue to be taught remotely until Jan. 19. The university is providing resources to students who have lost their homes, supported by the Pepperdine Strong Fund. The fund initially provided support to the Pepperdine community following the Franklin Fire that broke out on Dec. 9 in Malibu and burned more than 4,000 acres, 2.4 miles from campus.
Nearby campuses provide flexibility, support for employees and students
Several Los Angeles-area colleges have remained open, but are providing remote work alternatives, masks, and other support due to air quality, nearby evacuations and other challenges. These campuses, including Loyola Marymount University, Cal State Los Angeles and the University of Southern California, have not been evacuated and are not in evacuation warning zones, but are taking precautions.
At Loyola Marymount, which is located in the Westchester area of LA, the new semester began as scheduled on Monday. However, the university is providing accommodations to students, faculty and staff displaced by the fires.
At USC, classes resumed after winter break on Monday as scheduled. Students, staff and faculty can request N95 masks to help protect against the poor air quality. According to the USC Website, students with asthma, COPD, heart conditions or other sensitive health conditions can request a temporary housing reassignment through a Google Form. For faculty displaced by the fires, the university is helping them find temporary housing.
At Cal State Los Angeles, located in east LA, spring semester classes are set to start on Jan. 21, the regularly scheduled date. Patrick K. Day, vice president for student affairs, sent a campus-wide email outlining resources the school is providing, such as the Golden Eagles LA Fires Recovery Fund, which will help faculty, staff and students who live in neighborhoods affected by the fires and are in critical need. Counseling and Psychological Services will also have special “triage hours” for students who need mental health support. Day shared how moved he was by the support of the Cal State LA community.
“These gestures of care are evidence of a community coming together during a time of great loss, pain, and uncertainty — it makes me proud to be a Golden Eagle,” Day wrote.
Students mobilize to help raise money and support for LA communities
Within days of the start of the Los Angeles-area fires, student leaders mobilized their organizations to engage in mutual aid efforts and share resources.
Leila Salam, a third-year student at UCLA, discussed how several of her classmates and friends have family who have evacuated or lost homes in the fires. As the chapter chair of CALPIRG at UCLA, a campus organization focused on public interest advocacy, she and other members started their own fundraiser.
“We had people share out information on their social medias, of, like, where people could donate, and then call friends and family members personally to kind of tell them about the issue, why it’s important, and then ask for donations,” Salam said. “And just through doing that event for three hours, we were able to raise over $1,000.”
Salam is working with other campus organizations and leaning on her organization’s network of 25,000 students across UC campuses to host a donation drive this week. By continuing these efforts, she hopes to “make an even bigger impact.”
Orange Coast College sophomore Evelyn McCready is a boatswain, or youth leader, of a Sea Scout group called “Ship 550 Malolo.” Her group is organizing a donation drive Jan. 18. Although the group is based in Long Beach, she said members have been affected by the fires.
“We have many scouts that are currently living around active fire zones,” McCready said. “One of the groups that frequents our base is based out of Altadena, one of our own camps that’s called Josepho was destroyed in the Palisades fire.”
McCready was motivated to help because of how frequently California wildfires have occurred and cited an oath she took as a Sea Scout. “Part of [the oath] is to be prepared to render aid to those in need,” she said. “So, it is simply our responsibility to help the victims of the fires, because, well, we could be next.”
Alpha Tau Delta, a professional nursing fraternity at UC Irvine, has collected a variety of donations, from baby formula to medical supplies.
Mandy Bautista, a second-year student at UC Irvine and media manager for Alpha Tau Delta, said he was glad to contribute to the cause. “It’s beautiful to see our community come together for these efforts, and if everyone comes together to help for a common cause, we can make such a substantial impact to those in need,” he said.
More resources can be found here:
Foundation for California Community Colleges: Wildfire and Disaster Relief
Pasadena City College Community Funds
SMC: Disaster Relief Resources
LACCD: Fire Resources and Support
Delilah Brumer and Victoria Mejicanos are College Journalism Network fellows. Camelia Heins and Khadeejah Khan are contributors with the College Journalism Network, a collaboration between CalMatters and student journalists from across California. CalMatters higher education coverage is supported by a grant from the College Futures Foundation.