
Jan. 8, Occidental’s senior administrative leadership, headed by President Tom Stritikus, decided to close the campus for five days, a cautious measure in response to the nearby Eaton Fire. According to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, the Eaton fire has been 100 percent contained as of Jan. 31.
Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of the college Amos Himmelstein said the decision was made partly because the administration did not want people connected to the school to commute around LA. He said the administration also wanted the campus to be fully prepared and clean for a safe start to the Spring semester. Additionally, he said the decision was easier to make because the campus was not in session, meaning a delay in course progression would not be an issue.
According to Himmelstein, the fires did cause some residual physical damage to campus, but this damage was minimal.
“It was really the debris that we were cleaning up,” Himmelstein said. “[A] couple of fallen trees, some other plants that were just blown around and some roof tiles.”
Himmelstein said the college contacted Servpro, a third-party cleanup company, for temporary support in campus restoration.
“There was just a lot of the campus to cover in a short period of time,” Himmelstein said. “We just wanted to make sure all surfaces were clean, that there wasn’t any ash around and that kind of stuff, so we called them in to do that.”
According to Himmelstein, the fires have been disastrous for some college employees.
“About a dozen folks lost their homes, and another dozen or so employees have been impacted [so] that they can’t be back in their house yet,” Himmelstein said.
In response, Himmelstein said the college has provided temporary housing to unhoused employees.
Himmelstein also said the administration started its own Emergency Relief Fund, which sent timely financial aid to those in the Occidental community affected by the fire.
“There were disbursements made the Monday following the fires,” Himmelstein said. “We moved pretty quickly on that.”
According to Himmelstein, the Emergency Relief Fund comprises donations and funds set aside in the normal operating budget in case of emergencies.
Director of Communications for the college Rachael Warecki said via email that, as of Jan. 24, the Emergency Relief Fund has raised over $100,000. Of this total, Warecki said over $80,000 has been given to faculty and staff.
Nora Kahn, the general counsel for the school, said via email that for employee financial relief, different departments in the administration collaborated to send different levels of money to those in need based on the extent of damages suffered.
“Human Resources and the Business Office really pulled this program together with incredible efficiency to bring our staff some relief,” Kahn said via email.
Lupe Salmeron, the controller at the college’s Business Office, said via email that the fund also gave dining hall meal credits to employees and their families.
During the closure, Himmelstein said the Emergency Response Team, which is responsible for handling campus emergencies, met regularly, sometimes twice daily, to discuss logistics and protocol in case the fire spread.
According to Himmelstein, the Emergency Response Team is now holding meetings to assess and improve current protocol for future emergencies and fires.
“[We discussed] what things we need to tighten up, what areas we need to improve on, what worked well, what may not have worked as well for an emergency response,” Himmelstein said. “That is ongoing.”
In particular, Himmelstein said the Emergency Response Team is working on an evacuation plan should fires break out during a campus session.
Interim Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students Vivian Santiago said the school’s communications department played a key role in the response.
“Communication is critically important during any emergency and our colleagues in [the Office of Marketing and Communications] were very mindful of their important role to provide timely and accurate information to our campus community,” Santiago said.
Assistant Dean of Students for Emmons Wellness Center Devon Sakamoto said via email that the Emergency Response Team has also developed health guidelines for the campus, which are based on the LA County and California public health departments’ recommendations.
Sakamoto also said that some faculty have taken on individual initiatives to help the community recover.
“Lizzy Denny, Director of Project SAFE, has organized a hygiene product drive to benefit those impacted by the fires,” Sakamoto said.
In an email sent Jan. 13, President Tom Stritkus said he felt encouraged by the campus’s unity in the face of catastrophe.
“I’ve heard heartbreaking stories from those in our community who’ve lost so much, but I’ve been heartened by your desire to support one another,” Stritikus said via email.
Stritikus also said that the campus was never under official evacuation orders and that the academic schedule was set to run as planned.
Himmelstein said he thought the administration responded well but also that for those significantly affected, the college is willing to offer support to mitigate long-term impacts.
“We really feel for those who are majorly impacted,” Himmelstein said. “That is going to be a long haul for those folks, so even though we’ve pivoted towards the semester, we still have to really be mindful of the people who lost their homes or are displaced.”
He said that although the campus is back to normal, responding to the fires requires continuous support.
“It’s not over in that respect,” Himmelstein said. “I think that’s an important message that they don’t think that, ‘Oh, we’ve moved on now, and everything’s fine.’ For them, it’s not fine.”
Contact Noah Kim at nkim4@oxy.edu and Bennett Michaels at bmichaels@oxy.edu