On January 8, 2025, Fuller Theological Seminary closed its Pasadena campus through at least January 10 due to the Eaton Fire and accompanying hazardous windstorms sweeping Southern California. The closure extended through January 17 as virtual classes were implemented, and in-person operations did not fully resume until January 21. Some students and faculty had evacuated their homes, and the campus itself sustained debris and fallen tree branches requiring cleanup before safe reentry.
Due to the ongoing fires and hazardous windstorms in Southern California, many faculty, staff, and students are affected, with some experiencing power outages and limited internet access. We are also aware that some students and employees have evacuated their homes. As a result, classes and chapel are cancelled today, January 8, 2025, and all operations will be minimal.
The Pasadena Campus has been impacted by the winds and nearby wildfires. We are working on clearing up debris and fallen trees. We are also monitoring whether the campus will be subject to evacuation orders due to a nearby wildfire. In light of this, please avoid coming to campus until we reopen.
If you are in a possible evacuation area, please be aware of the following steps:
Evacuation Preparation Steps
- Monitor Cal Fire – https://www.fire.ca.gov/incidents/2025/1/7/eaton-fire (http://mkto-ab290022.com/OTQzLVBBVC05MDcAAAGX5csKvpq1BzpZIu5g2m-FOSQ4lxp6iHRWZbnixmWPM7I2ET5E-xT1nLRHjP9s4YdFB2Psgt4=) and Watch Duty – https://app.watchduty.org/i/40388 (http://mkto-ab290022.com/OTQzLVBBVC05MDcAAAGX5csKvoxlcg-l5LYonhJ09A2P4DxmJ2i3zB-u8MUU4vXeBOg64awJrYnG_WSbznr2BKKwgl4=) for evacuation orders.
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- Don’t rely on Campus Safety or the Fire Department to notify you if evacuation is necessary.
- Fuller Pasadena is in Zone PAS-Q1405 in the Cal Fire link provided above.
- An Evacuation Shelter has been established at the Pasadena Civic Center (http://mkto-ab290022.com/OTQzLVBBVC05MDcAAAGX5csKvpRa9ysNTni_wCNDg7tvs4c7woUdG7lvfkinPC38Q06aWHAKlFS-50oBFnMh-61oysk=) at 300 East Green Street, Pasadena, CA. The Humane Society is on-site to accept pets for boarding. Service animals will be allowed inside the Convention Center. For additional shelters, go to the Red Cross website (http://mkto-ab290022.com/OTQzLVBBVC05MDcAAAGX5csKvSaonYw7MDdna-uzJCzRG2J3hv4_fEaWRHzC1bEk5SoG_cIrnPTDIU8pSnfbF0pU0e8=).
- Prepare a To-Go Bag with the 6Ps:
-
- People, pets, and papers
- Phone numbers and important documents
- Prescriptions, vitamins, and eyeglasses
- Pictures and irreplaceable memorabilia
- Personal computers, hard drives, and disks
- “Plastic” (credit cards, ATM cards), and cash
- Check with your neighbors and help each other out.
-
- Some individuals may not have vehicles and need assistance with evacuating.
We kindly ask for your patience and understanding as we navigate this challenging situation. And please be in prayer for all our Fuller community in southern California.
Additional information will follow when available.
Full text from official Fuller post via WP REST API content field.
Community-wide administrative emergency notice closing campus for Eaton Fire / windstorm impacts.
Due to the ongoing fires and hazardous windstorms in Southern California, classes have been canceled and the Pasadena campus will be closed through Friday, January 10. The safety and wellbeing of our students, staff, and faculty are a priority.
Please note that the cancellation of classes does not apply to the Phoenix or Houston campuses. All offices and buildings at the Pasadena campus, including the library, are closed, and campus operations will be minimal. Student Housing facilities will remain open unless subject to evacuation orders.
The Health and Safety Committee will continue to monitor evacuation warnings and orders near the Pasadena campus. In addition, due to hazardous conditions on campus, such as fallen tree branches and debris, please avoid coming to the Pasadena campus until we reopen. The National Weather Service wind advisory warning is expected to last until 6:00 this evening, though nearby fires remain very active and will likely continue for some time.
For emergency assistance or resources, please note the following:
If you are in a possible evacuation area, please continue to monitor Cal Fire and Watch Duty for all evacuation orders. You can refer to our previous post for detailed information on how to prepare for potential evacuations.
We kindly ask for your patience and understanding as we navigate this challenging situation. Please continue to be in prayer for all of our Fuller community in southern California.
Fuller had previously announced a brief closure through January 10; this message extended operations to virtual-only for the following week, a 13-day disruption in total.
The decision to run fully virtual for January 13-17 reflected ongoing air quality concerns and the need to clean campus, including deep cleaning classrooms, offices, and residential areas and changing air filters.
We are grieved by the continued impact of the wildfires throughout Southern California, especially for those who have experienced major losses in the Fuller community. We are also deeply appreciative of the ongoing efforts to contain the wildfire, with first responders currently having the Eaton Fire at least 55% contained. In addition, Fuller’s teams on the Pasadena campus have taken the measures we can to ensure cleanliness and safety on campus. These include clearing debris; deep cleaning classrooms, offices, and residential areas; changing air filters; and ongoing monitoring of air quality and other conditions.
Therefore, we are thankful to announce that the Pasadena campus will resume in-person operations on Tuesday, January 21, 2025, including a return to in-person classes, meetings, events, and Chapel. The Pasadena Campus in-person services, including the library, welcome center, and Fuller Psychological and Family Services (FPFS) Clinic, will also resume in-person operations. As a reminder, Fuller is closed on Monday, January 20, for Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
Even with the steps we have taken to ensure cleanliness and safety, we recognize there may be concerns or challenges for many of our community members to return to in-person activities. We understand that while in-person operations are resuming, some individuals may face significant challenges due to the recent fires and need adjustments or flexibility:
Fuller is committed to ensuring everyone in our community receives the assistance they need during this transition.
We anticipate this will be our last emergency notification related to the wind and wildfire events. Therefore, please check the Fuller website’s page on wind and fire recovery regularly for up-to-date information and resources.
The reopening on January 21 came nearly two weeks after the initial January 8 closure; Pasadena Unified School District schools remained closed longer than Fuller.
Fuller's teams took measures to ensure cleanliness and safety before students returned, including clearing debris, deep cleaning classrooms and residential areas, changing air filters, and ongoing monitoring of air quality.
Message elements
How the first alert is built
To check this alert, Claude (an AI) read it in full 25 separate times, independently. Each read decided whether the message answers each of the six questions and gave a short reason. A final reviewer then weighed all 25 and wrote the plain-English verdict you see when you open a row. The score (for example 22/25) is how many reads agreed; the 25 individual reads are tucked underneath if you want to check them.
Due to the ongoing fires and hazardous windstorms in Southern California, many faculty, staff, and students are affected, with some experiencing power outages and limited internet access. We are also aware that some students and employees have evacuated their homes. As a result, classes and chapel are cancelled today, January 8, 2025, and all operations will be minimal.
The Pasadena Campus has been impacted by the winds and nearby wildfires. We are working on clearing up debris and fallen trees. We are also monitoring whether the campus will be subject to evacuation orders due to a nearby wildfire. In light of this, please avoid coming to campus until we reopen.
If you are in a possible evacuation area, please be aware of the following steps:
Evacuation Preparation Steps
- Monitor Cal Fire – https://www.fire.ca.gov/incidents/2025/1/7/eaton-fire (http://mkto-ab290022.com/OTQzLVBBVC05MDcAAAGX5csKvpq1BzpZIu5g2m-FOSQ4lxp6iHRWZbnixmWPM7I2ET5E-xT1nLRHjP9s4YdFB2Psgt4=) and Watch Duty – https://app.watchduty.org/i/40388 (http://mkto-ab290022.com/OTQzLVBBVC05MDcAAAGX5csKvoxlcg-l5LYonhJ09A2P4DxmJ2i3zB-u8MUU4vXeBOg64awJrYnG_WSbznr2BKKwgl4=) for evacuation orders.
-
- Don’t rely on Campus Safety or the Fire Department to notify you if evacuation is necessary.
- Fuller Pasadena is in Zone PAS-Q1405 in the Cal Fire link provided above.
- An Evacuation Shelter has been established at the Pasadena Civic Center (http://mkto-ab290022.com/OTQzLVBBVC05MDcAAAGX5csKvpRa9ysNTni_wCNDg7tvs4c7woUdG7lvfkinPC38Q06aWHAKlFS-50oBFnMh-61oysk=) at 300 East Green Street, Pasadena, CA. The Humane Society is on-site to accept pets for boarding. Service animals will be allowed inside the Convention Center. For additional shelters, go to the Red Cross website (http://mkto-ab290022.com/OTQzLVBBVC05MDcAAAGX5csKvSaonYw7MDdna-uzJCzRG2J3hv4_fEaWRHzC1bEk5SoG_cIrnPTDIU8pSnfbF0pU0e8=).
- Prepare a To-Go Bag with the 6Ps:
-
- People, pets, and papers
- Phone numbers and important documents
- Prescriptions, vitamins, and eyeglasses
- Pictures and irreplaceable memorabilia
- Personal computers, hard drives, and disks
- “Plastic” (credit cards, ATM cards), and cash
- Check with your neighbors and help each other out.
-
- Some individuals may not have vehicles and need assistance with evacuating.
We kindly ask for your patience and understanding as we navigate this challenging situation. And please be in prayer for all our Fuller community in southern California.
Additional information will follow when available.
Sourceabsent0/0
Who is sending the alert and who is responding. People act faster on a message from a clearly identifiable, credible sender, such as a named department, the police, or a branded alert system, than on an anonymous notice. A branded signature counts.
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Hazardabsent0/0
What the threat actually is. A complete warning names the specific danger, such as a shooter, a fire, a tornado, or a gas leak, rather than a vague emergency, because people decide what to do based on what they are facing.
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Locationabsent0/0
Where the threat is. Saying whether danger is in a specific building, a part of campus, or area-wide lets people judge their own proximity and choose a safe direction. Without a where, a warning is hard to act on precisely.
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Guidanceabsent0/0
The protective action to take. A clear, specific instruction, such as shelter in place, evacuate, avoid the area, or run-hide-fight, drives faster and more correct protective behavior than describing the threat alone.
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Timeabsent0/0
When the message applies. A timestamp, the word now or immediately, or a phrase like until further notice tells the reader whether the danger is current and how quickly to act.
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Impactabsent0/0
What the hazard could do to the people in its path. Beyond naming the threat, a complete warning conveys its potential consequences or severity, such as that a tornado can level buildings or that a leak could be explosive, so recipients grasp how much danger they are in. Research on warning message content finds that a concrete impact statement helps people personalize their risk and act sooner.
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Systematic AI judgments with visible reasoning, not human-validated codings.
Fuller Theological Seminary, founded in 1947 in Pasadena, California, is one of the largest multidenominational seminaries in the world and a prominent evangelical institution with campuses in Pasadena, Houston, and Phoenix. Its main campus at 135 N Oakland Ave sits in the Pasadena foothills directly in the path of the Eaton Fire, which ignited on January 7, 2025 and became one of the most destructive wildfires in Los Angeles County history, killing at least 17 people and burning approximately 14,000 acres. Fuller closed its Pasadena campus on January 8 due to hazardous wind-driven fire spread and campus debris. The closure continued through January 17 with virtual classes, and in-person operations resumed January 21. The seminary acknowledged that some students and employees had evacuated their homes and offered pastoral and practical support resources. Pasadena Now reported that Pasadena City College, Caltech, and Fuller all reopened on the same Monday (January 21) while Pasadena Unified School District schools remained closed.
Outcome
No injuries to campus community reported. Campus reopened for in-person operations on January 21, 2025. Student housing remained open throughout; library and other services were closed until reopening.
Campus Alert Archive. "Fuller Theological Seminary: Natural disaster, January 8, 2025." Incident of January 8, 2025. Added May 2026; last updated July 2026. https://campusalertarchive.com/case/fuller-theological-seminary-eaton-fire-closure-2025-01-08/