08/24/2020
This morning the Cabrillo College Emergency Operations Center (EOC) team made the decision to delay the start of Cabrillo's fall semester by one week.
We will start classes on Monday, August 31 and the fall semester will now run through December 19, 2020.
With this decision, we hope individuals and their families can focus on basic needs and evacuation plans. This is a time that requires compassion, assistance, and support for all those who have been impacted by the CZU Lightning Complex fires.
Multiple factors led to this decision:
• The County school districts that serve North Santa Cruz County and the city of Santa Cruz have made similar decisions to delay their instructional calendars.
• Roughly 30% of Cabrillo's population is under an evacuation order, due to fire conditions.
• More than 100 Cabrillo staff and faculty have reported that they have evacuated from their homes.
• Many students have communicated their unease and anxiety about moving forward with instruction amidst the fire evacuations.
• At least four Cabrillo employees have lost homes due to the fires, and the count of structures destroyed will only grow over the next week.
• There are countless students who are in uncertain housing situations because of the fires and evacuation orders.
• Cabrillo's Gymnasium and Parking Lot K have been transformed into a Red Cross shelter for evacuees. As of last night, 134 individuals are being served at 'Camp Cabrillo.'
• The CZU Fire Complex is only 13% contained as of this morning. Weather conditions will play a significant factor over the next week in helping to get an even stronger foothold on the fire.
This continues to be an evolving emergency incident. Please pay attention to social media notices from the County and CalFire. We will continue to aggregate important information on our college website at this link.
On our fire safety page and also listed below are support resources you may need for food and housing. Please know that you can always report to our Red Cross Shelter (Parking Lot K) if you need immediate housing assistance.
Thank you to all who have reached out to us about your status, it has helped to inform our decision making. We are also incredibly grateful to our Facilities and Operations team, our IT Team, our Athletics team, and our Purchasing Department for outstanding work in setting up Cabrillo's evacuation center on short notice. The efforts of Cabrillo employees over the last 96 hours have been heroic.
Governor Gavin Newsom visited the Cabrillo Campus and spent time with evacuees at our evacuation center yesterday afternoon. It was done with little fanfare but a big heart. We are lucky to have compassionate leadership at the highest levels of this state. Additionally, California Community Colleges Chancellor Eloy Ortiz Oakley has been in communication with me throughout the weekend and sends his regards to the entire community and hopes for a safe return to some degree of normalcy.
A reminder that Cabrillo has set up a special website for fire safety resources: http://www.cabrillo.edu/fire-safety.html
