The wildfire alert came in the middle of the night as some college students in Southern California were cramming for final exams and others were woken up in their dorms. The protocol at the Christian university with picturesque views of the Pacific Ocean may seem to defy logic to those accustomed to scenes elsewhere in wildfire-prone California of thousands of residents evacuating fire zones in lengthy caravans of cars.

Students and staff at Pepperdine University sheltered in place throughout the firefight overnight rather than evacuate. A spokesperson told KTLA the university was “well-designe