SMC Officials Address Getty Fire Campus Closure
During the Nov. 5 Board of Trustees meeting, Santa Monica College (SMC) President and Superintendent, Dr. Kathryn E. Jeffery, asked campus police chief, Johnnie Adams, to discuss how the school addressed the Getty Fire.
"On this fire, like any disaster that occurs...we're always learning. And I think that's the important thing...we had lessons learned and we debriefed some of the things internally," Chief Adams said.
The Getty Fire broke out in the early hours of Monday, Oct. 28 near the Getty Center. The proximity of the wildfire led all schools in the Santa Monica-Malibu school district to close for the day. However, SMC remained open, with school officials sending out notices via email, phone, and text informing students that classes would continue as normal.
An official statement released on Twitter read, "For most, SMC remains accessible. Current air quality is not in the unhealthy range. As long as the college is accessible & air quality does not present a health risk, normal operations continue."
The decision drew outcry from students, many of whom voiced their frustration on social media. "The air outside is almost unbreathable. Shame on you, SMC," Ciara Morgan wrote. She added, "Just close the school! So many students will be unable to make it to class."
Others posted screenshots of their weather apps showing conditions as smoky, rather than the usual rainy, cloudy, sunny, or windy.
Dr. Zab Mosenifar, a lung specialist who serves as executive chair of the Department of Medicine at Cedar-Sinai, said, "Even if you cannot see the smoke and particles, be aware that they are still there and still harmful."
"Small particles in the air can travel hundreds of miles,” Mosenifar added. “While the immediate danger is within a 25-mile radius of a fire...particles travel and float in the air for up to two weeks after the fire is out ...when inhaled, smoke and small particles — which consist of water vapor, carbon monoxide and ash — can cause both short-term and long-term damage to the airways and lungs."
The distance between the Getty Center and SMC's main campus is approximately nine miles.
The decision on whether or not to cancel classes is not made unilaterally. According to a statement from Dr. Jeffery, "Our senior staff in consultation with the Chief of Police analyze all relevant factors to make their decision and each one is different based on the circumstances presented to them."
Adams provided a brief overview of the metrics that the school uses to make their decision. "We've now worked with looking at air quality, we've looked at wind speed, wind direction because that's very important on which way the wind will go and depending on the projections of that, how we look at things within the college," Adams said.
Shortly after 9 a.m., SMC sent out another round of notices, this time informing students that the college would indeed close for the day. At the time, many students were already on campus.
During the Board of Trustees meeting, Trustee Barry Snell pressed Chief Adams if he was aware that the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District (SMMUSD) had made the decision to close their schools hours earlier and that many students had to travel from much further out.
"We also looked at that," Adams responded, adding that he now follows state law enforcement agencies on Twitter to stay up to date on road closures that may affect students.
Chief Adams explained the process that goes into monitoring conditions during disasters. "I'll get up around three o'clock in the morning and start looking at the news so that we can get the information to Dr. Jeffery and the rest of the team by 4:30, so that we can make a decision by 5:30, six o'clock," Adams said, "which is very important because we know that a lot of people are travelling around."
"The decision to close was based on an abundance of caution due to the changing weather conditions as well as the impact of road conditions," Dr. Jeffery said in a written statement. "The totality of circumstances are taken into account and factors for closure by K-12 schools are slightly different as there are risk factors and circumstances associated with those schools that are different with Colleges and Universities."
“The combination of worsening air quality, shifting wind direction, and the 405 freeway closure lead to the closure of campus," said Dr. Jeffery. She added, “Senior Staff conducted an 'after action' debrief on Tuesday to evaluate how the fire incident was handled and to review lessons learned.”
One of the lessons that Chief Adams mentioned was the need for SMC’s message to stay consistent with the SMMUSD “because when one institution closes down it does affect the others.”
"I think on this incident itself we learned a lot," Adams said, "and I thought that we made some good decisions as well."