The UCLA Conference Center in Lake Arrowhead has been closed and
evacuated due to wildfires in the area, and it is unknown when the
center can reopen.
The facility sits on approximately 40 acres of land on the
northern shore of Lake Arrowhead, and often hosts conferences for
various organizations throughout the state. The center staff and
its guests were forced to evacuate the area on Sunday night.
“The fire got within a couple of miles of the center
(Wednesday) night,” said Jim Turner, the center’s
director. “Right now the center is not in imminent danger,
but the situation is very fluid. It could change any
time.”
The facility is used by the UCLA Alumni Association in the
summer for a family resort.
“We’re just watching the news and praying that the
fire doesn’t get to the facility,” said Keith Brant,
executive director of the Alumni Association. “The last I saw
on the news, it was two miles away. It would be a shame to lose
it.”
Brant said the financial loss would be substantial if the center
burned down.
There are six to eight conferences that have been immediately
affected by the closure this week, and the center is working with
guests to either reschedule or to redirect their conferences to
other locations, Turner said.
More information on when the center will be able to reopen and
how many conferences will be affected is expected to be available
today.
The facility’s staff has temporarily relocated to the UCLA
campus to take calls from concerned guests, employees and student
staff, Turner said.
“We have rerouted our phone number from Lake Arrowhead to
UCLA to be in constant communication with guests and staff,”
he said.
The facility in Lake Arrowhead serves as the UCLA Conference
Center for nine months out of the year and is turned into Bruin
Woods, a family resort for UCLA alumni, in the summer.
Fifty-four percent of conferences held at the center are put on
by UC campuses, and 46 percent are held by outside guests such as
community colleges and city and county organizations, Turner
said.
The facility at Lake Arrowhead was originally built in the 1920s
and was used as a hotel for guests who traveled to Arrowhead, said
John Sandbrook, special assistant to the executive dean of the
College of Letters & Science.
It was donated to the UC Board of Regents by a private developer
in the 1950s after the University of Southern California turned
down the opportunity to manage the facilities.
UC Riverside operated the facility until 1980. The UC Office of
the Treasurer was going to sell the property in 1980, but former
UCLA Chancellor Charles Young led the effort for UCLA to take
responsibility for the center and redevelop it, Sandbrook said.
Sandbrook described the facility as a “precious
jewel,” and Housing Director Michael Foraker, whose office
oversees it, reflected the same view.
“The facility is a wonderful asset to the university, and
we are very hopeful that our property will not be impacted by this
fire,” Foraker said.
In addition, about 1,000 alumni families each summer spend one
week each at Bruin Woods, Sandbrook said.
The resort offers activities such as barbeques and family
sports. There are also campouts led by student-counselors, field
trips, and cruises for kids. For adults the resort offers
activities like lectures given by UCLA faculty.
One family member must be an Alumni Association member to use
Bruin Woods.