Classes at UCLA will be online through January 17 as wildfires continue to rage across Los Angeles County. The pivot to virtual instruction applies to both undergraduate and graduate courses as the fires create significant challenges for students, faculty and staff.
This decision was influenced by the proximity of the Palisades fire to campus. According to the university, the fire’s path remains unpredictable, and UCLA’s location near an evacuation warning zone adds to the need for caution.
A volatile environment prompts online pivot
The fires began on January 7, and although UCLA remained open the following day, the situation escalated quickly. Undergraduate classes were canceled on Thursday and Friday of last week, while graduate courses shifted to an online format.
On Friday, the university announced that all classes would be virtual on Monday and subsequently decided to extend remote instruction through the entire week. UCLA was under “emergency operating status,” underscoring the severity of the situation.
“The fires in Los Angeles County continue to pose immense challenges for the Bruin community, and we are here to support you in any way we can,” Chancellor Julio Frenk wrote in a campus update..
Wildfires near the UCLA campus
According to the UCLA’s student-run newspaper Daily Bruin, there’s been an active fire less than three miles from the UCLA campus. This proximity has heightened concerns for campus safety. In addition, a UCLA professor announced that he had lost his home to the fires.
The ongoing disaster has also disrupted other activities connected to the university. The Northwestern women’s basketball team announced last Friday that it would not travel to Los Angeles for scheduled games against UCLA and USC this week, citing safety concerns due to the wildfires.
While USC had cancelled its new student convocation which was scheduled to take place on January 10, the school announced it would start spring semester on January 13 with in-person classes. However, the school warned of the possibility of power outages and further deterioration of air quality due to smoke.
“This is a very fluid situation and changes may occur rapidly,” the university noted in an update.