Campus Alert Archive
CalArts

Two Hundred Artists to Redlands: CalArts Empties Its Dorms as the Hughes Fire Races Toward Valencia

CAwildfireemergency notificationmedium confidence
Confirmed Threat

On January 22, 2025, the fast-moving Hughes Fire erupted near Castaic Lake about 13 miles north of CalArts in Valencia, California. CalArts closed its main campus and canceled classes the same day, then proactively evacuated its Chouinard and Ahmanson residence halls, busing roughly 150 students and staff to the University of Redlands while 44 more sheltered at Woodbury University. The campus stayed closed through at least January 26 as a precaution, and CalArts issued credit/passing grades for the disrupted Winter Session.

Alerts
3
Response
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Killed
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Injured
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Institution
California Institute of the Arts
Private Bachelors · CA
~1,500 studentsCalArts Campus Safety / LiveSafe
Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

3 messages in sequence

Some alert texts below are approximate reconstructions from news coverage, not confirmed verbatim transcripts. Reconstructed texts are shown in italic with a dashed border. Verified verbatim texts have a solid border and are marked accordingly.

INITIAL ALERTEmail
Approximate reconstructionCalArts Campus Alert page (reconstructed)357 chars
CalArts is closing its main campus and canceling classes for the remainder of today, Wednesday, January 22, as a precautionary measure due to the Hughes Fire. Faculty, staff, and students are encouraged to avoid coming to campus until further notice. The campus is not currently in an evacuation zone. Campus Safety is monitoring the situation continuously.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

CalArts acted while still outside any evacuation zone, closing on the afternoon of January 22, 2025 as the Hughes Fire passed 3,400 acres with zero containment about 13 miles north.
The message paired a closure with a 'monitoring continuously' assurance, the standard early posture for a campus on a wildfire's projected path.
Reconstructed from the CalArts Campus Alert page summary; logged as not verbatim-confirmed because the official notification text is not publicly retrievable.
UPDATEPush+7h 30m
Approximate reconstructionUniversity of Redlands president's message (reconstructed)318 chars
CalArts is proactively evacuating the Chouinard and Ahmanson residence halls due to the proximity of the Hughes Fire. Resident students will be relocated to housing at the University of Redlands and Woodbury University. Campus Safety staff will direct students to transportation. Bring essential items and medications.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

This escalation moved CalArts from closure to a proactive residence-hall evacuation, relocating about 150 students and staff to Redlands per the host campus's own message.
Naming the specific halls — Chouinard and Ahmanson — and the receiving campuses gave residents concrete instructions rather than a vague 'evacuate.'
Reconstructed from the University of Redlands presidential message describing the relocation; logged as not verbatim-confirmed.
UPDATEEmail+1d
Approximate reconstructionCalArts Campus Alert page (reconstructed)346 chars
Update: The Hughes Fire is now 14% contained and the CalArts campus remains safe and outside the evacuation zone. Out of an abundance of caution, the campus will remain closed through at least Sunday, January 26. Winter Session courses impacted by the disruption will be graded credit/passing. We will share reopening details as conditions allow.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

This is a status update, not an all-clear: the campus 'remains safe' but stays closed through at least January 26, 2025 with containment only at 14%.
The credit/passing decision for Winter Session is the academic counterpart of an evacuation order, acknowledging that creative coursework could not resume on schedule.
Reconstructed from the CalArts Campus Alert page; logged as not verbatim-confirmed.
Context

Background

CalArts, the small Valencia conservatory founded by Walt Disney, sits in northern Los Angeles County near terrain that burns. When the Hughes Fire ignited east of Castaic Lake at 10:42 a.m. PST on January 22, 2025 and exploded past 3,400 acres with zero containment within two hours, CalArts closed campus and canceled classes the same afternoon even though it was never placed in a mandatory evacuation zone, according to the school's Campus Alert page. The institute then proactively evacuated its Chouinard and Ahmanson residence halls, busing roughly 150 students and staff to the University of Redlands and 44 more to Woodbury University. The Hughes Fire forced tens of thousands of evacuations across northern LA County before crews held it. CalArts kept the campus closed through at least January 26 and converted disrupted Winter Session courses to credit/passing, a notable example of a specialty arts school making conservative life-safety calls ahead of any official order.
Analysis

Key Findings

CalArts closed and canceled classes the same afternoon the Hughes Fire ignited, before any mandatory evacuation order reached the campus
The institute proactively evacuated its Chouinard and Ahmanson residence halls, relocating about 150 students and staff to the University of Redlands and 44 to Woodbury University
Even after the fire reached 14% containment, CalArts kept the campus closed through at least January 26, 2025 rather than declare an all-clear
Disrupted Winter Session courses were graded credit/passing, an academic accommodation tied directly to the wildfire emergency
Provenance

Sources

  1. Official
    Campus Alert: LA Fire and Wind Impacts - CalArts
    calarts.edu
  2. Official
    Supporting CalArts Students Impacted by Hughes Fire - University of Redlands
    redlands.edu
  3. Official
    Hughes Fire - CAL FIRE incident page
    fire.ca.gov
  4. News
    Hughes Fire leaves tens of thousands evacuated in northern L.A. County - KTLA
    ktla.com
Tags
arts-schoolconservatorywildfireevacuationcaliforniahughes-firespecialty-institution
Added May 2026Updated May 2026Via ingestion