Almost 2,000 students moved onto Chico State’s campus for the first time this fall, and those who came from far away may be unaware of the fire risk here. Despite the relative calm of this year’s fire season, we are well within the riskiest period of time.

The most deadly and destructive wildfire in California’s recorded history happened 20 minutes from campus. The 2018 Camp Fire destroyed the town of Paradise, burnt 153,336 acres and killed at least 84 people.

The most important thing for new students to know is to be prepared, said J Marvin Pratt, Director of Environmental Health and Safety.

“That is the biggest thing from an emergency management standpoint,” Pratt said. “If we, as a profession, can tell anybody [anything], it’s be self-prepared.”

If an emergency like the Camp Fire were to occur again, the University Police Department has access to emergency radio traffic. That allows them to obtain information quickly as situations are occurring. 

“Not every fire is the same, obviously,” Pratt said “But when it’s moving towards Chico, the first thing — like that happened during the Camp Fire — the first thing we did was we opened our Emergency Operations Center.”

The Emergency Operations Center is a group of selected administrators around campus that immediately organize to evaluate a situation and advise the president, their cabinet and their policy group on the best response.

Students should make sure to have a go-bag, Pratt said. It’s important to include a couple days worth of clothes, and medication if they take any, so students are prepared if a fire occurs. 

“And the other thing I would suggest folks do is sign-up for Butte County’s CodeRED,” Pratt said. 

CodeRED sends alerts directly to your phone during emergencies like wildfires and floods. CodRED is used by local government and emergency responders to provide quick and accurate information. Officials can target specific geographical areas to keep the public informed.

A lot of college students don’t have vehicles, which could complicate a quick evacuation. 

“We encourage them to work with their roommates, their friends. Get a ride with anyone you can,” Pratt said.

But, if more people needed to be evacuated off of the campus grounds, Chico State would work to organize transportation. That includes a small bus fleet and shuttles from The Social.

If further assistance was needed, Pratt said the university would reach out to other services, such as the Butte County Office of Emergency Management, the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services, or even Sacramento State or UC Davis. 

“The most common time for fires to happen is sort of late summer, like July, August, September, October,” said Rick Carhart, Butte County CAL FIRE Public Information Officer. “Those are traditionally the times that we see the most damaging, devastating wildfires.”

Carhart stressed that despite being most active in late summer, wildfires occur all year in this area, so it’s important to be aware of fire at all times.

“Know your zone, and pay close attention to those,” Pratt said. 

Butte County has a map on the sheriff’s website with zones, for Chico State it is zone BUT-CH-184, and BUT-CH-188. These zones will be used during fires or other emergencies that require evacuations. Each zone has a different number, and will be evacuated based on the danger for that area. 

Depending on circumstances, Chico State would adapt to evacuate its students from campus.

CAL FIRE suggests you bring these in your go-bag:

• Three-day supply of non-perishable food and three gallons of water per person
• A map with at least two evacuation routes
• Necessary prescriptions or medications
• A change of clothes and extra eyeglasses or contact lenses
• Extra car keys, credit cards, cash or traveler’s checks
• A first aid kit and sanitation supplies
• A flashlight and battery-powered radio with extra batteries
• Copies of important documents — birth certificates, passports, etc
• Pet food and water
• Valuables that are easy to carry
• Family photos and irreplaceable items
• Personal computer data on hard drives and disks
• Chargers for cell phones and laptops

Some things others suggest to bring in your go-bag are:

• Personal hygiene items
• Dust masks to reduce inhalation of debris
• Eye protection
• Work gloves
• Sturdy shoes
• Different layers of clothes
• Tool kit
• Water filter
• Deck of cards
• Head lamp

Aiden Masson can be reached at [email protected] or [email protected]