Karina Rodriguez
Editor-in-Chief
The University of La Verne campus was evacuated and classes were canceled or moved online Tuesday after a lithium fire erupted just before noon at a battery storage unit of the Metropolitan Water District on Wheeler Avenue, a little over mile from campus.
The fire was first reported at 11:40 a.m. near a solar panel field within the facility.
Students were kept up-to-date on the situation via text messages from ULVALERTS and ALERT LA COUNTY, the County’s mass notification program.
At 12:35 p.m., the community received the first ALERT LA COUNTY text that an incident had occurred and an evacuation order was in place for the area surrounding Wheeler and Bonita avenues.
At 12:55 p.m., a second ALERT LA COUNTY alert expanded the evacuation area.
At 1 p.m., the community received the third ALERT LA COUNTY message from the La Verne Police Department. This message expanded the evacuation zone to include the entire University’s main campus.
At 1:04 p.m. students received the message via ULVALERTS that the evacuation order did not impact the main campus.
Then at 1:23 p.m. ULVALERTS message let the campus community know it was time to evacuate and that the campus would close until further notice.
The Housing and Residential Life department urged students living on campus to go home or to a friend’s house outside of the area if possible. Students without that option were evacuated by van to the College of Law in Ontario.
“Right away, the RA told us that everyone was being instructed to evacuate campus,” said senior English major Raquel Rivera, who lives in the Vista La Verne dorm. “I saw an email saying that arrangements were being made for students who didn’t have anywhere to stay. I wasn’t necessarily scared, just concerned about how serious it was since I had never been told to completely leave campus before.”
Hillcrest, a senior living facility located at 2705 Mountain View Dr., was also affected by the lithium fire, though the facility was not evacuated.
“We did carefully craft a message to all residents letting them know exactly what was happening and inviting those people that were closest to come into the center of the campus,” said Ryan Harrison, the center’s director of engagement and outreach.
“We told everyone to shelter in place and to keep their …outdoor facing door and windows closed and to run their air conditioners to circulate filtered air,” Harrison said. “We went door-to-door and passed out N95 masks as well just in case, because the issue, of course, was a potential toxicity, airborne toxicity.”
A lithium fire cannot be battled like an average fire, said Jay Jones, ULV professor emeritus of biology and biochemistry.
“You can’t put water on it because the lithium will bind with the oxygen,” Jones said. “The batteries, if they are compromised structurally, they will catch on fire … it’s a bit more complicated.”
Lithium fires also give off toxic fumes.
“The plastics and other types of things that might be associated with the battery, you’d have to be concerned about,” Jones said. Though he added that he wouldn’t worry “too much about it … when you consider all of the different possibilities with fossil fuels and things like that.”
The University community received another text alert at 3:58 p.m. Tuesday that it was safe to return to campus, but the campus was still closed until Wednesday morning.
Students who were shuttled to the law school only stayed there for about an hour before they were taken back to the university.
Evacuation orders were still in place by press time Thursday for residents within a half-mile of the Metropolitan Water District.
On Tuesday Foothill Transit Bus Line 188 was the only bus line impacted by the lithium fire.
Felicia Friesema, spokeswoman for Foothill Transit, said the 188 line was affected because its route includes Foothill Boulevard.
“It is the line that travels along Route 66,” Friesema said.
The bus returned to its normal schedule on Wednesday.
Besides ULV, schools in the area affected by the fire included Roynon Elementary, Ramona Middle School, Holy Name of Mary, Bonita High School and Damien High School.
The cause of the fire has yet to be determined. Investigators are waiting until the area is safe to conduct a thorough investigation.
The University reopened Wednesday morning with no further interruptions.
Karina Rodriguez can be reached at karina.rodriguez3@laverne.edu.
Karina Rodriguez is a senior journalism major with a concentration in broadcast journalism, and editor-in-chief of the Campus Times. She has previously served as sports editor, social media editor, arts editor and a staff writer.
Joseph Nocero is a senior photography major at the University of La Verne and a staff photographer for the Campus Times and photography editor for La Verne Magazine. His work can also be found at Joseph Nocero Photography.
