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.