{
  "id": "2019-10-26-sonoma-state-kincade-fire",
  "slug": "sonoma-state-kincade-fire-2019-10-26",
  "institution": {
    "name": "Sonoma State University",
    "shortName": "SSU",
    "state": "CA",
    "type": "public-masters",
    "alertSystemName": "Sonoma State Alert",
    "enrollment": 9000
  },
  "incident": {
    "date": "2019-10-26",
    "endDate": "2019-11-04",
    "type": "wildfire",
    "cleryCategory": "emergency-notification",
    "headline": "Wildfire and power shutoffs close campus and residence halls for a week",
    "headlinePublic": "Wildfire and power shutoffs close campus and residence halls for a week",
    "summary": "On October 26, 2019, exactly two years and two weeks after the [2017 Tubbs Fire](https://news.sonoma.edu/sonoma-states-response-fires) devastated the region, Sonoma State University closed its Rohnert Park campus and urged students to leave as the [Kincade Fire](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kincade_Fire) drove the [largest evacuation in Sonoma County history](https://www.kqed.org/news/11783073/officials-order-50000-people-to-evacuate-due-to-kincade-fire-in-sonoma-county). The Kincade Fire ignited at 9:24 PM PDT on October 23 northeast of Geyserville and ultimately forced roughly 190,000 people to evacuate. Sonoma State [canceled classes, closed dining halls, and locked residence halls from October 26 through November 2](https://www.pressdemocrat.com/news/10278759-181/burglars-ransack-24-dorm-rooms) due to the combined threat of fire, smoke, and PG&E Public Safety Power Shutoffs; residence halls reopened at noon on Saturday, November 2, and classes resumed Monday, November 4. While [24 dorm rooms were burglarized during the evacuation](https://abc7news.com/post/3-students-suspected-of-burglarizing-ssu-dorms-during-wildfire-evacuation/5687966/), the campus suffered no fire damage.",
    "outcome": "Campus closed October 26 through November 2. Approximately 3,000 residential students displaced. 24 dorm rooms burglarized during evacuation (three students, all 18, were arrested October 29 as they were driving away from campus). No fire damage to campus structures. Residence halls reopened at noon Saturday, November 2. Classes and regular business operations resumed Monday, November 4.",
    "resolution": "confirmed-threat"
  },
  "alerts": [
    {
      "sequence": 1,
      "type": "initial",
      "timestampApprox": "Saturday evening, October 26, 2019 (posted 7:38 PM PDT)",
      "channel": "twitter-x",
      "verbatimText": "SSU is not under immediate threat, but given the nature of the Kincade fire & its regional impacts, campus is now fully closed. Campus is closed through Monday, Oct. 28. All classes, activities, business operations & events are canceled. (1/2)",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "sourceUrl": "https://x.com/SSU_1961/status/1188283681355399168",
      "sourceDescription": "@SSU_1961 on X (verbatim raw t.co)",
      "annotations": [
        "The first tweet of a two-part thread; the '(1/2)' marker is part of the original post",
        "Leads with 'not under immediate threat' before announcing a full closure, a regional-impacts framing that reflects the combined fire, smoke, and PG&E Public Safety Power Shutoff threat rather than flames at the fence line",
        "Issued as evacuation orders expanded westward from Geyserville and Healdsburg toward Windsor, roughly 12 miles north of campus",
        "Unlike 2017 (when the Student Center became an overnight evacuation shelter) the 2019 closure pushed students off campus entirely because the water-pumping system was vulnerable to PSPS outages"
      ],
      "characterCount": 243
    },
    {
      "sequence": 2,
      "type": "update",
      "timestampApprox": "Sunday, October 27, 2019",
      "channel": "twitter-x",
      "verbatimText": "SSU is not under immediate threat, but given the extent of the Kincade fire and its regional impacts, campus will be closed through Tuesday, Oct. 29. All classes, activities, business operations, and events are canceled. All residence halls and buildings are locked. (1/2)",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "sourceDescription": "@SSU_1961 on X (verbatim raw t.co)",
      "annotations": [
        "References the specific vulnerability (water-pump dependence on grid power) that made campus uninhabitable during a PSPS",
        "The Kincade Fire on this date had grown to over 30,000 acres with red flag warnings forecasting 80+ mph winds"
      ],
      "characterCount": 272,
      "sourceUrl": "https://x.com/SSU_1961/status/1188565906303021057"
    },
    {
      "sequence": 3,
      "type": "all-clear",
      "timestampApprox": "Friday, November 1, 2019 (residence-hall reopening announcement; classes-resume notice followed)",
      "channel": "twitter-x",
      "verbatimText": "SSU is not under immediate threat, but given the extent of the Kincade fire and its regional impacts, Sonoma State University will remain closed for the rest of the week. Classes and regular business operations will resume on Monday, Nov. 4. (1/3)",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "sourceDescription": "@SSU_1961 on X (verbatim raw t.co)",
      "annotations": [
        "Reopening came before the Kincade Fire was fully contained (containment was not reached until November 6, 2019)",
        "When students returned beginning Saturday, November 2, 24 dorm rooms were discovered burglarized; three students (all 18-year-olds) had already been arrested October 29 while driving off campus",
        "Most burglaries occurred at Sauvignon Village; four were in three freshman residence halls"
      ],
      "characterCount": 247,
      "sourceUrl": "https://x.com/SSU_1961/status/1188998498064093184"
    }
  ],
  "context": "Sonoma State University sits in [Rohnert Park, about 15 miles south](https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2019/10/29/campuses-evacuated-classes-canceled-wildfires-rage-california/) of the [Kincade Fire's ignition point](https://www.fire.ca.gov/incidents/2019/10/23/kincade-fire) northeast of Geyserville. The 2019 closure followed an institutional learning curve from the [October 2017 Tubbs Fire](https://news.sonoma.edu/sonoma-states-response-fires), when SSU's then-new president Judy K. Sakaki lost her Fountaingrove home and the university operated the Student Center as an overnight shelter. For the 2019 Kincade event, SSU instead [pushed students off campus entirely](https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2019/10/29/california-fires-and-power-outages-close-campuses) because the [PG&E Public Safety Power Shutoff](https://www.newsweek.com/california-kincade-fire-power-outage-sonoma-napa-1468077) disabled the campus's electric water-pumping system, leaving fire-suppression capacity compromised. The Kincade Fire ultimately burned 77,758 acres and triggered the [largest evacuation in Sonoma County history](https://www.kqed.org/news/11783073/officials-order-50000-people-to-evacuate-due-to-kincade-fire-in-sonoma-county), eventually displacing nearly 190,000 people. SSU later refunded housing and meal-plan charges for the closure period. The university's response was studied as a [case study in higher-ed wildfire continuity planning](https://sonomastatestar.squarespace.com/opinion/2020/10/11/learning-from-the-past-sonoma-states-evacuation-shelter).",
  "casualties": {
    "killed": 0,
    "injured": 0,
    "notes": "No fire-related casualties on campus. 24 dorm rooms burglarized during evacuation; three students later arrested."
  },
  "keyFindings": [
    "The PSPS-water-pump vulnerability is a uniquely Northern California campus risk, fire suppression depends on grid-powered water pressure",
    "Sonoma State's 2019 response represents an institutional 'lesson learned' from 2017: clear the campus rather than shelter in place",
    "Multi-day off-campus displacement of 3,000+ residential students created cascading problems including a series of dorm burglaries"
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "title": "California fires and power outages close campuses",
      "url": "https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2019/10/29/california-fires-and-power-outages-close-campuses",
      "type": "other"
    },
    {
      "title": "Campuses evacuated, classes canceled as wildfires rage in California",
      "url": "https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2019/10/29/campuses-evacuated-classes-canceled-wildfires-rage-california/",
      "type": "national-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "24 Sonoma State University Dorm Rooms Burglarized during Kincade Wildfire",
      "url": "https://www.campussafetymagazine.com/news/24-sonoma-state-dorms-burglarized-kincade-wildfire/78137/",
      "type": "other"
    },
    {
      "title": "Kincade Fire (CAL FIRE)",
      "url": "https://www.fire.ca.gov/incidents/2019/10/23/kincade-fire",
      "type": "official-archive"
    },
    {
      "title": "Sonoma State's Response to the Fires (SSU News)",
      "url": "https://news.sonoma.edu/sonoma-states-response-fires",
      "type": "official-archive"
    },
    {
      "title": "Learning from the past: Sonoma State's evacuation shelter (Sonoma State Star)",
      "url": "https://sonomastatestar.squarespace.com/opinion/2020/10/11/learning-from-the-past-sonoma-states-evacuation-shelter",
      "type": "student-newspaper"
    },
    {
      "title": "Sonoma State University (@SSU_1961) on X: campus closure announcement, October 26, 2019",
      "url": "https://x.com/ssu_1961/status/1188283681355399168",
      "type": "official-social"
    },
    {
      "type": "official-social",
      "title": "@SSU_1961 on X (verbatim thread)",
      "url": "https://x.com/SSU_1961/status/1188998498064093184"
    },
    {
      "type": "official-social",
      "title": "@SSU_1961 on X (verbatim thread)",
      "url": "https://x.com/SSU_1961/status/1188565906303021057"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://x.com/SSU_1961/status/1188283681355399168",
      "title": "@SSU_1961 on X",
      "type": "official-archive",
      "dateAccessed": "2026-07-18"
    }
  ],
  "confidence": "medium",
  "tags": [
    "wildfire",
    "kincade-fire",
    "evacuation",
    "psps",
    "california",
    "csu",
    "sonoma-state",
    "campus-closure",
    "burglary"
  ],
  "dateAdded": "2026-05-13",
  "lastUpdated": "2026-07-18",
  "addedBy": "ingestion"
}