UCLA classes will return to in-person instruction Tuesday

Moore Hall is pictured. UCLA students will return to in-person classes, including at Moore Hall, Tuesday. (Vanessa Man/Daily Bruin)

By Dylan Winward
Jan. 16, 2025 1:13 p.m.
This post was updated Jan. 16 at 10:20 p.m.
UCLA plans to return to in-person classes Tuesday.
Undergraduate instruction was cancelled Jan. 9 and Jan. 10 – and moved online for week two of winter quarter – following the onset of fires across Los Angeles County. Students will now return to campus Tuesday for in-person classes, UCLA Chancellor Julio Frenk said in a campuswide email Thursday afternoon.
Multiple fires continue to burn across LA County – including one in the Pacific Palisades that has spread 23,717 acres and is 22% contained.
“We are optimistic about how things are trending: emergency responders are making progress in combating the fires, wind speed is diminishing and projections show continued safer air quality on campus,” Frenk said in the email. “Based on all the latest available information, we are ending emergency status on Friday, Jan. 17 at 5 p.m.”
In-person work is expected to resume as normal Saturday – though supervisors are asked to offer flexibility when possible, he said, adding that more detail on the return will be communicated to specific stakeholders by campus vice chancellors.
“Should conditions shift, we will revisit our plans,” Frenk said in the email. “We are not letting our guard down. We will remain vigilant and communicate promptly with you with any important changes.”
The UCLA Academic Senate is yet to decide on pushing deadlines to drop or add classes, said Dean and Vice Provost of Undergraduate Education Adriana Galván at a campuswide town hall Thursday, adding that academic accommodations on specific assignments are up to class instructors.
[Related: LIVE: JANUARY 2025 FIRES]
Although students on the UCLA campus reported receiving an erroneous evacuation warning from Ready LA County on Jan. 9, no official warnings or orders have been issued covering the campus as of 1 p.m. Thursday.
Nonetheless, many students chose to leave Westwood, staying elsewhere Southern California or travelling back to their hometowns for remote instruction. Undergraduate Students Association Council President Adam Tfayli – who is also a resident assistant – said in a Monday written statement that he estimated between 90% and 95% of students have left the Hill.
When students do return to the UCLA campus, they should try to stagger their return, said Administrative Vice Chancellor Michael Beck at a Thursday campuswide town hall meeting.
“We do encourage people to come back in a staggered format because of the number of individuals that did leave,” Beck said. “It would be very similar to a move-in, based on the numbers that moved away.”
As of 12:00 p.m. Thursday, the air quality on campus – measured using a methodology shared by the Environmental Protection Agency – was rated as “good” and has been for over 72 hours, according to UCLA’s air quality website.
Although operations on campus have been running on an emergency status, UCLA Housing front desks have remained operational, and Bruin Plate remains open.
If UCLA were to have come under an evacuation order, students – including those who do not live in UCLA Housing – would be asked to report to Pauley Pavilion and Tipuana Apartments and would be transported to an off-campus location with shelter, food, supplies and Wi-Fi, according to the UCLA Newsroom website. UC Riverside, UC Irvine and multiple California State University campuses would assist the university in evacuating students, according to a post on Bruins Safe Online.
The Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center – which has been treating fire victims – follows different evacuation procedures and has an obligation to carry on with clinical operations, according to the UCLA Newsroom website.
Around 1,200 students and 2,400 staff members have been under an evacuation order since the start of the fires, Beck said at a campuswide town hall Thursday. Some students and faculty also have lost their homes to the fires, with the university offering them temporary housing.
[Related: ‘Everything is just gone’: Bruins grapple with homes lost in LA wildfires]
UCLA has assisted with government responses to the fires, including by donating space at the UCLA Research Park – formerly Westside Pavilion – to create a Federal Emergency Management Agency Disaster Recovery Center. The university is offering reduced rates across the three hotels it owns to those impacted by wildfires.
UCPD has aided other agencies in patrolling evacuated areas and stationed staff at the Zuma Beach Incident Command Center, where firefighting operations were coordinated, according to posts on the department’s social media accounts.
UCLA’s undergraduate and graduate student governments also allocated $30,000 to a relief initiative for members of the campus community.
Angelenos have assisted those impacted by the fires by volunteering, donating meals and raising money. The federal government is also aiding local disaster responses after President Joe Biden pledged a 100% reimbursement for all disaster related costs incurred by the City and County of LA in the next 180 days.
Frenk said in the email that he was proud of the way the campus community has responded to the fires.
“The wildfires have been a painful tragedy for our communities, but we also have seen a great upswell of generosity and support for one another,” he said in the email. “Bruins have tapped into their reservoirs of kindness. This compassion is what will enable us to recover and rebuild – together.”