Campus Alert Archive
Columbia College CA

1,200-Gallon Propane Tank Catches Fire Feet from 18,000-Gallon Tank at Columbia College California, Campus Loses Heat

CAfireemergency notificationmedium confidence
Confirmed Threat

On the afternoon of February 12, 2022, a 1,200-gallon propane vapor tank caught fire on the campus of Columbia College in Sonora, California, threatening an adjacent 18,000-gallon liquid propane tank. Campus staff quickly shut off the valve between the two tanks, and neither tank exploded. Fire crews declared the fire contained at 5:49 PM PST, but heating connections throughout campus buildings were damaged, leaving the college without heat for several days.

Alerts
3
Response
—
Killed
0
Injured
0
Institution
Columbia College
Community College · CA
~3,500 students
Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

3 messages in sequence

Some alert texts below are approximate reconstructions from news coverage, not confirmed verbatim transcripts. Reconstructed texts are shown in italic with a dashed border. Verified verbatim texts have a solid border and are marked accordingly.

INITIAL ALERTUnknown
Approximate reconstruction210 chars
Campus Alert: A propane tank fire has been reported on the Columbia College campus. Emergency crews are responding. Evacuate the area near the propane facility immediately and avoid campus until further notice.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

The fire was first detected around 4:30 PM PST on Saturday February 12, 2022, when the campus was between semesters and student population was low
The 1,200-gallon propane vapor tank that caught fire was situated close to a much larger 18,000-gallon liquid propane tank, creating significant BLEVE risk
Campus staff were able to manually shut off the isolation valve between the two tanks before fire spread to the larger tank
Columbia College in Sonora, Tuolumne County, is a California Community Colleges campus serving the Sierra Nevada foothills region
UPDATEUnknown
Approximate reconstruction224 chars
Campus update: The propane tank fire at Columbia College has been declared contained at 5:49 PM. No injuries have been reported. The campus remains closed while crews assess damage to heating connections in campus buildings.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

Fire was declared contained at 5:49 PM PST on February 12, 2022, approximately 80 minutes after it was detected
Neither propane tank exploded -- a best-case outcome given the proximity of the 1,200-gallon tank to the 18,000-gallon tank
However, the connections supplying propane heat to campus buildings were damaged, requiring repair before heat could be restored
The campus remained largely closed in the days following as parts were ordered and heating infrastructure was repaired
FOLLOW-UPEmail
Approximate reconstruction247 chars
Columbia College campus update: Heating has been restored to campus buildings following repairs to the propane heating connections damaged in Saturday's fire. The campus is reopening on a phased basis. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

Campus was without heat for several days while replacement parts were ordered and heating connections repaired
The incident occurred in February in the Sierra Nevada foothills where winter temperatures make loss of heating a significant campus safety issue
The cause of the fire was still under investigation at the time of published reporting
Columbia College is one of the most geographically isolated community colleges in the California Community College system, sitting at 2,100 feet elevation in Tuolumne County
Context

Background

Columbia College in Sonora, California, a rural community college serving Tuolumne County in the Sierra Nevada foothills, experienced a serious propane infrastructure emergency on February 12, 2022. A 1,200-gallon propane vapor tank on campus caught fire in the late afternoon, and the situation was immediately critical: the burning tank sat close to a much larger 18,000-gallon liquid propane storage tank. A BLEVE (boiling liquid expanding vapor explosion) from the large tank could have caused catastrophic damage. The Union Democrat reported that campus staff successfully shut off the isolation valve between the two tanks, preventing fire spread. Fire crews declared containment at 5:49 PM PST. myMotherLode.com reported that heating connections throughout campus were damaged in the fire, forcing the campus to remain mostly closed in the following days while parts were ordered and the heating system repaired. No injuries were reported. The incident highlighted the vulnerability of smaller rural campuses that rely on propane rather than natural gas for heating infrastructure.
Analysis

Key Findings

A staff member's quick action in shutting the isolation valve between the 1,200-gallon burning tank and the 18,000-gallon storage tank almost certainly prevented a catastrophic BLEVE explosion
Loss of campus heating connections after the fire closed the college for several days, illustrating how infrastructure damage from a contained fire can still cause significant disruption
Columbia College's reliance on propane rather than natural gas reflects the reality of many rural campuses outside the reach of utility gas lines
The incident occurred between semesters, limiting exposure -- had it occurred on a full class day, evacuation of a packed campus would have been required
Outcome
No injuries. Neither propane tank exploded. Fire contained to vegetation and the 1,200-gallon tank area. Campus remained mostly closed in the days following while heating connections to buildings were replaced.
Provenance

Sources

  1. News
    Columbia College investigates cause of on-campus propane tank fire (Union Democrat)
    uniondemocrat.com
  2. News
    Columbia College Still Impacted By Propane Tank Fire (myMotherLode.com)
    mymotherlode.com
  3. News
    Propane Tank Fire At Columbia College In Sonora (CBS Sacramento)
    cbsnews.com
Tags
firepropanebleve-riskcommunity-collegecaliforniarural-campusheat-lossinfrastructure-failureno-injuries
Added June 2026Updated June 2026Via ingestion