More on Fire at Pepperdine

My admiration for Pepperdine president Andy Benton is only reinforced by his calming response to the Pepperdine community...

M E M O R A N D U M
TO: Campus Community
FROM: Andrew K. Benton
DATE: October 22, 2007
RE: Fire Update

Today is a much better day. The winds are still high, but the smoke is clearing and as far as we know there are no fires burning on campus. Nevertheless we are on alert and we have a strong fire prevention/containment presence standing by.

I know this was a first-time experience for most of you. I am so proud of your calm response and your concern for each other. The worship service yesterday in the cafeteria with helicopters flying into and out of view behind the leaders is something I will never forget.

Our campus damage is limited to a portion of a pool shack near the Baxter Drive swimming pool and three cars which were parked in the Theme Tower lot. The rest is landscaping and we can fix that in time. The important thing is that you are safe.

From our position of relative safety we will have a chance to serve; indeed, some of our best work in the Malibu community has emerged from a crisis just like this one. If given the chance, please volunteer to help those who did not fare as well as we did yesterday.

Good planning is of no value without great people willing to respond. My colleagues and I were very proud of our whole campus community yesterday. You were an inspiration to us.
We will keep you informed as this new day develops.

>>>>>>>>>>>>
More info via this CNN interview of 2 Pepperdine students early Monday morning.