At the end of 2024 and beginning of 2025, the Pepperdine community and our neighbors were deeply impacted and forever changed by the Franklin and Palisades wildfires. In response, Pepperdine Libraries established this community archive as a collaborative, living repository dedicated to documenting and preserving our shared experience.

Our aim is to ensure future generations understand the true depth and detail of this experience, told through the voices of those who lived it. To achieve this, we are committed to actively collecting a range of material that reflects different viewpoints and perspectives. We welcome contributions from Pepperdine students, faculty, and staff, as well as our neighbors who live and work in Malibu, the Pacific Palisades, and surrounding communities. Whether you are a local resident, first responder, business owner, or community organizer, your unique experience is a vital piece of this history.

This project is a long-term, ongoing effort, and we welcome contributions and collaborative partnerships at any time. Please reach out at specialcollections@pepperdine.edu

Contribute to the Archive

We invite you to share your materials, memories, and reflections that help document the full spectrum of the fires, their aftermath, and the ongoing journey of our community.

 

We accept a wide range of materials which might include:

  • Photographs or videos of the fires, damage, emergency response, recovery, or community support efforts.
  • Screenshots or text of your personal social media posts, blog entries, or online community discussions.
  • Written accounts about daily life during or after the fires, reflections on how these events have shaped your family, community, and routine, and what has helped you find a sense of peace and normalcy. 
  • Flyers or documentation related to community aid, mutual support networks, volunteer efforts, and the process of rebuilding.
  • Oral Histories relaying your unique experience. 

The Palisades Community Renewal Center (PCRC), a program of the Picerne Family Foundation, has opened in Santa Monica. PCRC is a welcoming space dedicated to healing, creativity, and connection for all those impacted by the January 2025 Palisades wildfires. PCRC offers 12 free individual, family, or group counseling sessions to community members. The Center also offers arts programs plus Saturday Family Workshops, yoga and other programming designed to inspire connection.

Staff are available to provide in-person mental health services (including counseling, support groups, crisis stabilization, and resource linkage) from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday to Friday, at two walk-in centers (Eaton Fire Collaborative: 540 W. Woodbury Road, Altadena 91001 and Palisades Fire Collaborative: 15247 La Cruz Drive, Los Angeles 90272), and through the LACDMH-run fire support line at (833) 659-0600

The Counseling Center provides free and confidential support to all enrolled Pepperdine undergraduate and graduate students. Staff are ready to support students with both individual and group appointments. Please call (310) 506-4210 or email at student.counseling.center@pepperdine.edu to schedule an appointment or learn more about services. 

The Palisades Long-Term Recovery Group (Pali LTRG) was formed after the Palisades Fire to help households in our community recover, especially those still facing unmet needs after exhausting other forms of assistance. They are local Palisades fire survivors who have been in the burn zone supporting their neighbors since the early days of the disaster. Pali LTRG facilitates Disaster Case Management: identifying disaster-affected individuals and households with the greatest unmet needs and connecting them to essential resources of Money, Manpower, and Material and conducts and coordinates wellness programs, recovery education, and events that reconnect the entire community.

Palisades Recovery Coalition coordinates rebuilding logistics, connects survivors with recovery resources, and brings neighbors, agencies, and partners together so Pacific Palisades can rebuild stronger and safer after the Palisades Fire.

The Palisadian Post was launched in 1928, six years after the Pacific Palisades was founded, by Telford Works as a source for local news. The paper was most recently purchased by Tim and Laura Schneider, long-time local residents and veterans of the publishing industry. The Schneiders believed the Post to be a vital part of the community’s civic infrastructure that, like much of the Palisades, needed to be rebuilt. They committed to relaunch the Palisadian-Post as a digital-first communications platform for Pacific Palisades on May 4, 2026, the 98th anniversary of the paper’s founding.