After the unexpected wildfires of early January 2025, the residential life students and faculty safely evacuated from Flintridge Sacred Hearts’s campus. The residential life students, some of whom had arrived on campus that same day, quickly repacked their bags and headed to a hotel in Long Beach.
“I was on my way to campus when I heard that there was no light, two windows were broken, and wind was blowing hard at FSHA,” Susan Zheng ‘26 said.
Once the winds became stronger, prior to the mandatory evacuation order, the faculty told students to stay in the Green Room.
“When I arrived on campus, Ms. Sam told us we needed to have a big sleepover in the Green Room for safety,” Zheng said. “But after dinner, the staff told us to pack a bag for evacuation.”
Faculty continuously updated students on campus about the fire.
“Mrs. Conroy and Mrs. Bostic did an amazing job of calming us down and handling the situation,” Elisa Mena ‘26 said.
Though it was a time of great uncertainty, Tologs felt a sense of comfort.
“The faculty made me feel safe and reassured us that everything would turn out fine,” Mena said.
Students on campus expressed concern about the shocking view outside their windows.
“When I looked outside, I saw a massive fire dangerously close to us and I remember standing in my room, realizing that no material thing really mattered, only my life,” Mena said.
After a few hours in the Green Room, students were told to each pack a bag and prepare to evacuate. The Eaton Fire was causing unhealthy air quality on campus.
Some residential life students received this update while still in transit.
“I was on a plane when I found out that I had to evacuate to a hotel, so I was pretty shocked when the supervisors and my friends told me,” Chloe Lee ‘26 said. “Luckily, since I had just arrived, I had all my luggage with me and didn’t need to pack anything.”
Everyone in the Green Room quickly gathered their things.
“When they told me to pack I didn’t take it as seriously, so I packed some clothes, a charger, and basic life necessities,” Amy Cheng ‘26 said.
Tologs packed lightly due to the uncertainty of the situation.
“I packed wash supplies, my passport, wallet, and a hoodie because I thought we would be back in the next few days,” Zheng said.
Residential life students were initially shocked when they found out about the evacuation order.
“I was completely shocked, confused, and stressed by everything happening as soon as I landed,” Lee said.
That night, at 7:45 pm, 17 Residential Life students, four dogs, Director of Residential Life Ms. Herrick, and six other faculty members were driven in campus vans from the campus to safety.
“First, we evacuated to San Gabriel and stayed at the Hilton Hotel,” said Lee.
While there, students went on short trips around San Gabriel.
“On the first day we went to 99 Ranch,” Zheng said.
Their stay at this hotel, however, was short.
“The air quality in San Gabriel was quite poor, and the power outage made it difficult to charge our devices,” said Lee.
Students moved to the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Long Beach, where they stayed for the remainder of their evacuation.
“The air quality there was much better, and we were given an allowance to buy meals,” Lee said.
After arriving at the Hyatt Regency, students arranged into their rooms.
“The rooms were nice, although we had to share a room with four people,” Lee said.
At Long Beach, students had the chance to explore the city.
“I went out almost every day with my friends to the outlet nearby, the aquarium, and 2nd Street,” Chen said.
Throughout the duration of the evacuation, Tologs kept an optimistic mentality.
“I try to find the good in bad situations, and this was no exception,” Mena said.
