► Get the latest on campus operations, instruction and emergency plans for UCLA.
As the Bruin community processes the impacts of last week’s fires and awaits the next expected round of Santa Ana winds, UCLA leaders hosted a town hall for faculty and staff on Jan. 13 to offer the latest information on campus and UCLA Health operations, as well as available resources for those affected by the fires.
The hour-long Zoom meeting addressed topics ranging from emergency operations and research operations to how UCLA is assisting faculty and staff in need, and how the Bruin community can help.
“I want to thank everyone for their understanding and cooperation, as we manage through these operational changes and impacts at UCLA,” Associate Vice Chancellor Michael Beck said. “As with previous emergencies, we will get through this together. I’m always impressed at how our Bruin community rallies together to support each other during times of crisis.”
The National Weather Service has issued a “particularly dangerous situation” warning for stretches of Los Angeles and Ventura counties starting tomorrow at 4 a.m. and continuing through Wednesday, with wind gusts ranging from 45 mph to 70 mph, continued low relative humidity and a high risk of extreme fire behavior.
“Obviously this is an incredibly stressful situation that really rivals the situation during COVID,” said Roger Wakimoto, UCLA’s vice chancellor for research and creative activities. “I appreciate all of your cooperation. And just remember that safety and health is our No. 1 priority.”
Key topics included:
Resources for affected faculty and staff
More than 3,300 faculty and staff have been impacted by evacuation warnings and mandatory evacuation orders. No evacuation warning or mandatory order has been issued for the UCLA campus. However, the campus is adjacent to an evacuation warning zone that touches the university’s northwest corner. Updates, including upcoming town halls, are being posted on UCLA Newsroom and Bruins Safe Online.
Among Monday’s updates is news from County Supervisor Kathryn Barger that a section of UCLA’s Research Park, on the west side of Westwood Boulevard, will be set up as a Federal Emergency Management Agency center where community members can go for direct assistance. UCLA is offering paid administrative leave and making efforts to provide temporary housing.
UCLA Health operations
UCLA hospitals in Westwood, Santa Monica and West Valley have special designations to the public as essential facilities and are currently in no imminent danger of fire encroaching those facilities. UCLA has been operating at activation Level 2 since the Palisades Fire broke out.
Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center has received three fire victims. UCLA West Valley Medical Center received about 17 patients to its burn center. UCLA Health’s Palisades clinic burned to the ground, said Johnese Spisso, president of UCLA Health.
Research
Because the Westwood campus is adjacent to an evacuation warning zone, UCLA is asking for research activities that are deemed nonessential to cease out of an abundance of caution, Wakimoto said.
“We truly understand that we must try to protect research that if interrupted, could seriously impact months if not years of your hard work, and we’re trying very hard to avoid that,” he said.
Return to normal operations
The Academic Senate has approved remote instruction for undergraduate and graduate students through Friday, Jan. 17, while campus is under emergency operating status. UCLA’s emergency operations center runs 24 hours a day, seven days a week, said Lisa Martin, UCLA’s director of the Office of Emergency Management.
They monitor information coming in from the city and county of Los Angeles, the county’s Office of Emergency Management and other sources, and update executive leadership several times a day on current conditions and what they expect in the next operational period.
Any modifications to UCLA’s mode of instruction for undergraduate and graduate students will be determined by the Academic Senate, which considers the administration’s recommendation when making the final decision on instructional modality.
Upcoming town halls will be held:
- For students: 3 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 14
- For parents: 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 14
- All campus: 10 a.m on Thursday, Jan. 16