Thomas Fire Update

Updates Friday, December 22

• The Red Cross is planning to close its emergency shelter at the MAC of 5 p.m. today.

Updates Thursday, December 21

• All evacuation orders for Santa Barbara County, both voluntary and mandatory, have been lifted as of 9 a.m. today.

Updates Tuesday, December 19

• Evacuation orders have now been lifted or downgraded for some areas of the Carpinteria and Santa Barbara foothills.

Updates Monday, December 18

• Facilities Management has begun preliminary cleanup work to control the spread of ash.

• The campus has opened The Club and Guest House to law enforcement officers, including National Guard troops, as they support local officials with fire response over the next few days. UCSB is currently housing over 100 official personnel — a number expected to increase as additional support personnel continues arriving. Portions of Parking Lot 23 are also being used by the National Guard for the staging of equipment.

• Evacuation Warnings have been lifted for several areas of Santa Barbara, and the Evacuation Order for Toro Canyon has been changed to an Evacuation Warning. More information is available here via the county.  

Updates Sunday, December 17

• In a new memo to the campus, Chancellor Henry T. Yang announced the extension of the Emergency Leave policy for staff affected by the Thomas Fire, again directing the managers, deans and vice chancellors to exercise maximum flexibility in granting additional emergency leave and/or allowing people to work remotely.

Updates Saturday, December 16

• The Red Cross emergency shelter on campus is open and ready to welcome anyone evacuated due to the Thomas Fire. The shelter can be reached directly at 893-6080. More information here.

• The Blind Boys of Alabama Holiday Show presented by Arts & Lectures and scheduled for 8 p.m. Saturday has been cancelled.

• Resources for Additional Information:

  • Santa Barbara County — Incident summary and details about evacuations, closures and shelter facilities.

   • Cal Fire — Incident information, including weather conditions, closures and evacuation maps. A list of California Wildfires Statewide Recovery Resources can be found here. 

  • SB County Air Pollution Control District — https://www.ourair.org/: Information about air quality levels and warnings.

  • SB County Public Health Department — http://cosb.countyofsb.org/phd/

  • Caltrans — http://www.dot.ca.gov: Information on current road closures.

  • Southern California Edison — www.sce.com/outages and www.sce.com/staysafe. Information about power outages.

Updates Friday, December 15

• The Gaucho women’s basketball game versus Loyola Marymount rescheduled for Monday, December 18, in the Thunderdome will now be played at at 7 p.m. at Loyola Marymount.

Updates Thursday, December 14

• In a memo to the campus, Chancellor Henry T. Yang reiterated the activation of the Emergency Leave policy for staff and faculty affected by the Thomas Fire. Read the full message here.

Updates Wednesday, December 13

• Due to intermittent IT issues related to the Thomas Fire, the Graduate Division has extended a number of graduate application deadlines from Friday, Dec. 15, to Monday, Dec. 18.  Applications and corresponding materials must be completed and submitted by 11:59 p.m. Dec. 18. Questions may be directed to gradadmissions@graddiv.ucsb.edu or the Graduate Division’s main office at (805) 893-2277.

• In a memo to the campus, Chancellor Henry T. Yang announced the activation of the Emergency Leave policy for staff and faculty affected by the Thomas Fire, as well as the extension of curtailment of campus operations. Read the full message here.

• The Gaucho women’s basketball game versus Loyola Marymount, originally scheduled for December 7, will be played Monday, December 18, at 2 p.m. in the Thunderdome. The game is being offered free of charge for the community; parking will be available at reduced rates.

Updates Monday, December 11

• Human Resources (HR) is providing guidance for departments who have staff members affected by the fire. With the potential impacts of intermittent power outages, air quality, and the early departure of many students, HR is advising departments that are able to curtail operations during this period to request authorization from respective Vice Chancellors and Deans.

• The Academic & Staff Assistance Program (ASAP) offers counseling and consultation on a short-term basis for for all UCSB employees affected by the Thomas Fire. ASAP is located in the Human Resources Office. More information is available at www.hr.ucsb.edu/asap or by calling 893-3318.

• Due to the Thomas Fire, The Club & Guest House will remain closed until early January.

• Given the rescheduling of final exams, the UCSB Library is following its recess schedule. Hours are Monday through Thursday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. (regular) and 6 to 10 p.m. (late night study); Friday and Saturday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. (regular) and 5 to 9 p.m. (late night study). In addition, Special Research Collections is closed until further notice.

Updates Sunday, December 10

• The university has posted a list of FAQs and associated resources for faculty, graduate and undergraduate students and staff related to the extension of fall quarter and the rescheduling of final exams. Read it here.

• Final exams scheduled for the coming week have been rescheduled to the week of January 8, 2018. Read the full text of Chancellor Henry T. Yang’s letter to campus here.

• The UCSB Parent Hotline for information about the campus response to the Thomas Fire remains open at (805) 893-3901.

• The Santa Barbara County alert just after 2 a.m. indicating a civil emergency and mandatory evacuation due to the Thomas Fire is for the Carpinteria area.  It does not apply to UCSB, Isla Vista, Goleta or Santa Barbara city. 

Updates Saturday, December 9

• Senior administrators, faculty, deans, campus health officials and student leadership continue to meet around-the-clock to assess the most current information available from government officials, health officials, and emergency experts. More details are available in a Saturday update memo from Chancellor Henry T. Yang.

• An air quality warning for Santa Barbara County continues from the Air Pollution Control District. Smoke and ash from the Thomas Fire is affecting local air quality and conditions may continue over the next several days. Information about current air quality conditions can be found at here.

Updates Friday, December 8

• Campus is providing N95 masks to faculty and staff as well as students. One mask per person can be obtained at either the office of Human Resources (1:30 to 4 pm) or UCSB Student Health Service (until 4:30 pm). Faculty, staff and students also have the option of picking up one mask each in the SRB, Rec Cen or their residence halls (ask R.A. or at front desk).

• The campus has received an additional 12,000 N95 masks and is distributing them now, until supplies last, at Student Health. Another 7,000 masks will arrive Monday.

• A UCSB Parent Hotline for information about the campus response to the Thomas Fire is open at (805) 893-3901 until 4:00 p.m. (PST).

• Classes have been cancelled for Friday, Dec. 8.

Updates Thursday, December 7

• Classes have been cancelled for Friday, Dec. 8. More information is available here via a memo from Chancellor Henry T. Yang.

• A UCSB Parent Hotline for information about the campus response to the Thomas Fire is open at (805) 893-3901 from 1:00 to 6:00 p.m. (PST).

• The Division of Student Affairs provides information for students and parents. Read it here.

• Classes have been canceled for the remainder of Thursday, December 7. More information is available here via a new memo from Chancellor Henry T. Yang.

• Access to the UCSB Library is through the Courtyard Entrance only. 

• The women’s basketball game versus Loyola Marymount, scheduled for tonight at the Thunderdome, has been canceled.

• The Cory Richards event being put on by UCSB Arts & Lectures will proceed as scheduled tonight, Thursday, December 7.

• The Misty Copeland talk scheduled for Friday, December 8, has been canceled.

Updates Wednesday, December 6

• UCSB Chancellor Henry T. Yang has sent a message to the campus community regarding the Thomas Fire. Read it here. 

• The Graduate Division’s online application system for graduate programs is fully functional. Due to yesterday’s network issues, some departments extended their application deadlines to today, Dec. 6. Questions or concerns should be directed to gradadmissions@graddiv.ucsb.edu.

Updates Tuesday, December 5

Though the Thomas Fire in Ventura County poses no danger to the physical campus, it has resulted in intermittent power outages across campus and has impacted some network availability and departmental websites. The campus remains open and operational.

We are deeply concerned for all those who are affected by this devastating event. We will update this page with pertinent information as it becomes available. Following is a list of departments and areas impacted by power outages, as well as a list of resources for additional information. Faculty, staff and students should consult their respective departments regarding any specific directions, changes or requirements.

• Housing, Dining & Auxiliary Enterprises — All campus dining venues and retail food operations remain open, though some service has been modified.

• Student Health Service — Due to staff absences related to the fire some non-urgent services are limited. However, urgent care, pharmacy and other services are fully functional. For students with breathing conditions, face masks are available free at the information desk in the lobby. For information, visit http://studenthealth.sa.ucsb.edu.

• CAPS (Counseling and Psychological Services) also reports some staff absences related to the fire, but remains open for emergencies and is accepting appointments. Group and individual sessions are mostly taking place as scheduled. 

• The UCSB Library is open with normal operations and services. However, the elevators have been shut down, with the exception of the elevator at the Courtyard Entrance. Building and service updates for the library are being communicated via @UCSBLibrary.

• The Recreation Center is operating at normal hours, but due to power outages and ash, Recreation Center pools are closed until further notice. In addition, all sport club practices taking place outside are cancelled today, Dec. 5. For more information, visit http://recreation.sa.ucsb.edu.

• Staff employees who are unable to travel to campus due to road closures, evacuations or fire-related emergencies should contact their supervisors to coordinate requests for time away from the office. For more on the policy, visit http://policy.ucop.edu/doc/4010406/PPSM%202.210.

• The Recreation Center’s MAC (Multi Activity Court) is serving as a temporary emergency shelter for individuals evacuated due to the Thomas Fire. The shelter can be reached directly at 893-6080.

Additional Resources for Information

• Information about the Thomas Fire, including an incident summary and details about evacuations, closures and shelter facilities can be found at http://www.readyventuracounty.org/

• An air quality warning for Santa Barbara County has been issued by the Air Pollution Control District. Smoke and ash from the Thomas Fire is affecting local air quality and conditions may continue over the next several days. Information about current air quality conditions can be found at here.

• Southern California Edison is providing information about power outages at www.sce.com/outages and at www.sce.com/staysafe. Information is available by telephone at (800) 611-1911.