Section
Pepperdine Links
Online Publications
Almost three months have passed, and still the signs of destruction are visible. Buildings and landscaping that suffered from the fires, which began in Malibu and scorched the southland in October and November, are etched with charred, blackened reminders of the toll the community took as a result of the natural disasters.
The Malibu Canyon Fire, which started Oct. 22, burned more than 4,600 acres of land within the city. More than a dozen wildfires burned through seven Southern California counties last fall, taking with them homes, land and faith of those caught within their grasps.
Seniors Erin Chinen, Becca Patterson, Tamara Hunt and junior Kailey Fullerton lost their apartment, which was located off of Vista Pacifica, to the fire. Chinen said they felt very supported by the community, who bought them groceries, gave them baked goods and helped them move into their new apartment, which was on campus in the Lovernich structure.
“We received so much love from not only our friends, but people we barely knew,” Chinen said in an e-mail.
This semester, Chinen and Patterson have both relocated to a new off-campus apartment.
Meanwhile, members of one of Malibu’s most prominent structures to burn, Malibu Presbyterian Church, are assessing the rebuilding process there.
“We’re planning to rebuild, but now we’re amidst the process of slowly moving forward and seeing what that looks like,” said Ross McMeekin, University Ministries Leader. “We’re moving as fast as we can, but these things take time.”
McMeekin described the church reconstruction effort as being in a “planning stage,” regarding the specific design of the new church and what it will take to build it. A committee within the church has been overseeing this effort.
In addition to the committee, McMeekin said the community has played a large role in speeding up the rebuilding process as much as possible.
“We’ve felt nationwide support from all churches and organizations, from Pepperdine, the Malibu community, other churches and even from the city,” he said. “We’ve just felt a huge amount of support.”
Pepperdine 1995 alumnus Mark Hull started a Facebook group, “Rebuild Malibu Presbyterian,” to aid in the process from his home in San Jose. Though the group has been more of an outlet for information and community support, it has attracted almost 100 members.
“We’re rallying friends and connecting them with the church to lend a hand,” Hull said.
Though much is uncertain at this time for Malibu Presbyterian Church, one thing is clear — the church will stand where it once did, according to McMeekin.
Sonia Sorrell, Associate Professor of Art History, said her primary home in Lake Arrowhead, which was lost in the fires that affected the area, will also be rebuilt where it stands. Sorrell and her husband, Visiting Assistant Professor of Business John Elliott, had recently moved into the residence, and personal belongings were still in boxes when the home was consumed by flames.
Sorrell and Elliott awoke the morning of the fire to flashing, red lights from a fire engine and the smell of smoke. They rushed to leave the home, taking what little they could, and watched it burn to the ground hours later on television.
“The helicopter shot focused right on our home practically from start to finish,” Sorrell said in an e-mail. “The feeling is almost surreal, as if it simply cannot be true.”
She said the community has “rallied with help” in the rebuilding process, despite the hardships the two have encountered in losing their home and irreplaceable belongings.
“We have spent the intervening months trying to gather the basic necessities of life,” Sorrell said. “With the help and support of all our very dear friends, we will continue to rebuild our lives one day and one item at a time.”
Sorrell listed SGA as one of the community organizations to have been the most hopeful through the process.
SGA President Andy Canales said helping families, like that of Sorrell, recover from the fire has been a priority among the council.
SGA held a fundraiser at the end of November to raise money for the University Advancement Fire Relief Fund, and Canales said another is in the works. Free T-shirts will be given out to those in attendance.
“The overall message is to celebrate our good fortunes, but to also remember those who were seriously affected by the fires and to contribute to helping the victims of these fires,” he said.
Bernard James, Professor of Constitutional Law, and his wife Connie James, Associate Professor of Business, were unavailable to comment on the loss of their home, which stood near Malibu Presbyterian Church, at this time.
Malibu City Councilmember Ken Kearsley, a former Malibu mayor for four years, said the city has been actively working to promote relief efforts since day one.
Kearsley serves on the board of Gumdrop, the Greater Malibu Disaster Recovery Project, which is an organization that helps those affected by the fires to rebuild their lives.
“It is a group of people affiliated with churches in the city,” he said. “We’ve raised $50,000 to pay for people who fall through cracks of FEMA.”
Overall, Kearsley said he is hopeful about Malibu’s ability to recover from the losses it suffered..
“We’ve been through this before,” he said. “We’ve had a learning curve, so we know what to do to help the people in need.”
Despite outside aid, the rebuilding process has been slow for many — a day-by-day challenge.
Kearsley said he hopes the community has been taking the past three months to recover from the losses they suffered both physically and emotionally.
“You can’t take away all the pain, but you try to ease the process and assure people that we’re supporting them and the government is supporting them,” he said.
Brad Davis, the Emergency Service Coordinator for the city, said Malibu residents should currently be cautioned about coming rains, which could cause mudslides. The possibility of these mudslides has been heightened by the recent fires.
Submitted 01-24-2008
MALIBU, CA
