October 21, 2007 - Malibu Wildfire

11:30 p.m. on Saturday, I was getting ready for bed and I asked Tara, "Do you smell smoke?" She said she didn't think so. We went outside to check and it smelled faintly like a campground in the summertime. Tara said, "This won't be good" because the Santa Ana winds were already blowing 40 mph plus. About 4:30 a.m. Sunday, our power went out. Tara had just got up with Caleb because he called out to her and she got back into bed and said our power just went out, must be the winds or something. Right before 6 a.m., Tara got the call on her cell phone we thought would come some day, "There is a fire in the area, get ready to contact your students."

Because of the power outage and it still being dark, info was still scarce because nobody could turn on the TV. I decided to go out and listen to the radio in my car, beause I knew the morning drive/news stations would be covering the fire. These two pictures are what I saw when I walked outside...Not what you want to see at six in the morning. By 6:45 a.m. we got the call that we, and the rest of campus was to relocate to the Tyler Campus Center, which houses the Cafeteria and also is the equivalent of the Student Union building. This picture shows where we were going.



Even though it sounds a little off at face value, Pepperdine's Emergency Preparedness plan is a "shelter and place" plan rather than an evacuation. The reason for this is simple. There are only three main ways to get in and out of Malibu, and in the case of a wildfire it would be crazy to send 2000 plus people out onto those roadways clogging them up while the fire personnel are coming to fight the fire. Also the danger of sending people out onto the roads that the fire is racing towards is very high. However, it is frustrating because the news agencies like to sensationalize things, just a bit and phrases like, "Pepperdine students are being held captive on their campus" comes out. Also you have interviews with our administration where the news anchor says I just don't understand, why don't you get them out. Really, the safest place to be is right here on campus, in one place, surrounded by over 400 firefighters, 6-8 water dropping helicopters, fire chiefs and red cross staging on campus, and a two week supply of food and water!



Around 8 a.m. the fire came over the ridge and really began "Threatening Campus". Again, we were safe because we were down on the front of campus, in a stucco building, with tile roof, surrounded by concrete plazas and parking lots. Also, right out front of this building are two large ponds and the helicopters were using these ponds to fill up. For the next 4-5 hours we sat in the cafeteria watching the helicopters fly in and fly out and fight the fire around us. They fought the line of the fire threatening our campus and no structures were burned. Late afternoon we were able to go home and it was a relief to be able to eat at home and sleep in our own bed.



The fire has currently moved east about 2 miles but the winds are still blowing and it is only 10 percent contained. The roads are still closed and we are asked not to leave campus. We are thankful for everyone who planned and fought this fire. It isn't over yet but 24 hours ago it looked a lot different than now.

I have uploaded some video to YouTube. The current videos are shorts that I filmed on our camera. I will put longer ones up later today, as long as the power stays on. Thanks for your prayers, calls and texts! They were appreciated.