{
  "id": "2018-11-08-chico-state-camp-fire",
  "slug": "chico-state-camp-fire-2018-11-08",
  "institution": {
    "name": "California State University, Chico",
    "shortName": "Chico State",
    "state": "CA",
    "type": "public-masters",
    "alertSystemName": "Chico State Emergency Alert",
    "enrollment": 16000
  },
  "incident": {
    "date": "2018-11-08",
    "endDate": "2018-11-25",
    "type": "wildfire",
    "cleryCategory": "emergency-notification",
    "resolution": "confirmed-threat",
    "headline": "Nearby Camp Fire forces same-day suspension of classes and a multi-week closure",
    "headlinePublic": "Nearby Camp Fire forces same-day suspension of classes and a multi-week closure",
    "summary": "On the morning of November 8, 2018, [the Camp Fire ignited at 6:33 AM PST near Pulga](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camp_Fire_(2018)) and raced westward toward Paradise. [Chico State's University Communications began pushing announcements at 9 AM](https://today.csuchico.edu/from-the-president-recounting-the-camp-fire/), with President Gayle Hutchinson's [first message at 11:15 AM PST saying campus 'continued to be safe' and classes were in session](https://www.mynspr.org/news/2018-11-20/interview-with-chico-state-president-gayle-hutchinson-camp-fire-response-recovery). By 2:45 PM PST, classes had been suspended for the day. By 5:05 PM PST, an emergency closure was announced for Friday, November 9. Classes were ultimately suspended through November 26.",
    "outcome": "Chico State campus closed to students November 9-25, 2018; campus operations closed to faculty, staff, and student employees through November 16; faculty/staff closure extended through November 23. Roughly 1,000 Chico State community members were displaced or evacuated. PM2.5 concentration in Chico increased nine times above average during the fire.",
    "casualties": {
      "killed": 0,
      "injured": 0
    }
  },
  "alerts": [
    {
      "sequence": 1,
      "type": "initial",
      "timestamp": "2018-11-08T09:00:00-08:00",
      "channel": "email",
      "verbatimText": "",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": false,
      "sourceUrl": "https://today.csuchico.edu/from-the-president-recounting-the-camp-fire/",
      "sourceDescription": "Chico State Today: From the president — recounting the Camp Fire",
      "annotations": []
    },
    {
      "sequence": 2,
      "type": "update",
      "timestamp": "2018-11-08T11:15:00-08:00",
      "channel": "email",
      "verbatimText": "The University is closely monitoring the Camp Fire. The situation is rapidly evolving, and we are working to provide support to all those affected. Campus continues to be safe and classes are in session. We will provide further updates as the situation develops.",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "sourceUrl": "https://www.mynspr.org/news/2018-11-20/interview-with-chico-state-president-gayle-hutchinson-camp-fire-response-recovery",
      "sourceDescription": "President Gayle Hutchinson 11:15 AM PST message, November 8, 2018, as quoted by NSPR",
      "annotations": [
        "Sent at 11:15 AM PST November 8, 2018, by President Gayle Hutchinson, 4 hours and 42 minutes after fire ignition",
        "Phrase 'campus continues to be safe and classes are in session' would be operationally overtaken by mid-afternoon, when classes were suspended at 2:45 PM PST, illustrating how fast wildfire situations evolve",
        "Hutchinson's invocation of 'support to all those affected' acknowledged what was already known: hundreds of Chico State students and employees lived in or commuted from Paradise"
      ],
      "characterCount": 262
    },
    {
      "sequence": 3,
      "type": "update",
      "timestamp": "2018-11-08T14:45:00-08:00",
      "channel": "sms",
      "verbatimText": "",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": false,
      "sourceUrl": "https://today.csuchico.edu/from-the-president-recounting-the-camp-fire/",
      "sourceDescription": "Reconstructed from Chico State Today's retrospective on the 2:45 PM PST class suspension",
      "annotations": []
    },
    {
      "sequence": 4,
      "type": "update",
      "timestamp": "2018-11-08T17:05:00-08:00",
      "channel": "email",
      "verbatimText": "",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": false,
      "sourceUrl": "https://www.csuchico.edu/ucomm/announcements/campfire.shtml",
      "sourceDescription": "Reconstructed from Chico State University Communications Camp Fire announcements page",
      "annotations": []
    },
    {
      "sequence": 5,
      "type": "update",
      "timestampApprox": "Mid-November 2018, PST",
      "channel": "email",
      "verbatimText": "",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": false,
      "sourceUrl": "https://www.csuchico.edu/ucomm/announcements/campfire.shtml",
      "sourceDescription": "Reconstructed from Chico State University Communications Camp Fire page and NSPR coverage",
      "annotations": []
    }
  ],
  "context": "[California State University, Chico](https://www.csuchico.edu/) is a public master's-granting institution of about 16,000 students located in Chico, roughly 12 miles west of Paradise, California. On the morning of November 8, 2018, the [Camp Fire ignited at 6:33 AM PST near Pulga](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camp_Fire_(2018)) and raced westward through Paradise. Chico State University Communications began pushing announcements at 9 AM with an Environmental Health and Safety air-quality message. President Gayle Hutchinson's [first message at 11:15 AM PST said campus continued to be safe and classes were in session](https://www.mynspr.org/news/2018-11-20/interview-with-chico-state-president-gayle-hutchinson-camp-fire-response-recovery). By 2:45 PM PST, classes were suspended for the day. By [5:05 PM PST, an emergency closure was announced for Friday, November 9](https://today.csuchico.edu/from-the-president-recounting-the-camp-fire/). Classes were ultimately suspended through November 25, with [campus operations closed to faculty, staff, and student employees through November 16](https://www.csuchico.edu/ucomm/announcements/campfire.shtml) and the staff closure extended through November 23. About 1,000 Chico State community members were displaced or evacuated, with [PM2.5 concentrations in Chico reaching nine times the average during the fire](https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/sites/default/files/2021-07/Camp_Fire_report_July2021.pdf). N95 masks were distributed campus-wide. The case complements the Butte College Camp Fire response in this archive: where Butte College closed because the fire and its evacuees were on its campus, Chico State closed because hazardous smoke from a fire 12+ miles away made the campus environment unhealthy. The 8-hour pivot from 'monitoring' to 'closed' on November 8 became a textbook example of fast-evolving wildfire decision-making.",
  "keyFindings": [
    "Chico State's same-day pivot (9 AM 'monitoring' to 11:15 AM PST on November 8, 2018 'safe' to 2:45 PM PST 'classes suspended' to 5:05 PM PST 'closed Friday') illustrates how fast wildfire situations evolve",
    "The closure was driven by air quality (smoke from a 12-mile-distant fire), not direct fire threat; Chico itself never came under evacuation order",
    "About 1,000 Chico State community members were displaced or evacuated, comparable in scale to the Sonoma State Tubbs Fire impact",
    "Chico State distributed N95 masks campus-wide as PM2.5 reached nine times the average, a public-health intervention rarely seen in higher education",
    "The case complements Butte College in this archive: same fire, two institutions, fundamentally different closure rationales (smoke vs. evacuation)"
  ],
  "responseTimeMinutes": 147,
  "sources": [
    {
      "title": "Camp Fire Evacuations (Chico State University Communications)",
      "url": "https://www.csuchico.edu/ucomm/announcements/campfire.shtml",
      "type": "official-archive"
    },
    {
      "title": "From the President: Recounting the Camp Fire (Chico State Today)",
      "url": "https://today.csuchico.edu/from-the-president-recounting-the-camp-fire/",
      "type": "official-archive"
    },
    {
      "title": "Interview With Chico State President Gayle Hutchinson: Camp Fire Response, Recovery (NSPR)",
      "url": "https://www.mynspr.org/news/2018-11-20/interview-with-chico-state-president-gayle-hutchinson-camp-fire-response-recovery",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "Butte County, Chico State Closed Through Late November Due To Camp Fire (NSPR)",
      "url": "http://www.mynspr.org/post/butte-county-chico-state-closed-through-late-november-due-camp-fire",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "'In the face of extraordinary loss': How did Chico State respond to the Camp Fire? (The Orion)",
      "url": "https://theorion.com/106621/news/in-the-face-of-extraordinary-loss-how-did-chico-state-respond-to-the-camp-fire/",
      "type": "student-newspaper"
    },
    {
      "title": "Camp Fire Air Quality Data Analysis July 2021 (California Air Resources Board)",
      "url": "https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/sites/default/files/2021-07/Camp_Fire_report_July2021.pdf",
      "type": "after-action-report"
    },
    {
      "title": "Camp Fire (2018) (Wikipedia)",
      "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camp_Fire_(2018)",
      "type": "other"
    }
  ],
  "confidence": "high",
  "tags": [
    "wildfire",
    "camp-fire",
    "smoke-impact",
    "air-quality",
    "california",
    "chico-state",
    "csu",
    "public-masters",
    "n95-distribution",
    "displaced-community"
  ],
  "dateAdded": "2026-05-03",
  "lastUpdated": "2026-07-20",
  "addedBy": "ingestion"
}