JULIS NAVARRO
Staff Writer
A brush fire started five miles from campus, due to a motorcycle accident last week.
The motorcyclist suffered serious injuries and was flown by helicopter to UCLA Medical Center for treatment, according to L.A. County Fire Department reports. He was treated and released.
The fire, which occurred on Piuma Road, burned only about an acre Wednesday, Oct. 18th before firefighters completely contained it. Firefighters were dispatched at 5:33 p.m., and had contained the fire by 6:30 p.m.
Initially, the dry and windy weather presented Red Flag warnings, and 95 personnel were dispatched from Calabasas fire station 67. However, according to Department of Public Safety Deputy Director Robert McKelvy, the fire was contained very quickly and additional requested fire resources were cancelled by the L.A. County Fire Department.
Captain Art Cox of station 67 said it was “an initial shock and awe thing,” but luckily, the fire was very small.
No firefighters were injured during the fire. In addition, no damages were reported.
Pepperdine’s Department of Public Safety did not send out an announcement regarding the fire, because it was not a cause for concern.
“There are several fires that occur in our area every year. Most never reach a point that would raise concerns of threatening the campus,” McKelvy wrote in an e-mail.
“The Malibu area is historically prone to brush and wild land fires,” McKelvy wrote. “Local fire condition reports routinely suggest that fuel moisture in our area can be very dramatic from day to day, lending to Malibu high fire danger.”
10-26-2006