California Wild Fires Strike Maritime College

At 09:43 local time, Califonia Maritime Academy officials published an emergency tweet “EVACUATE CAMPUS. Fire has jumped the freeway”.

The California State University Maritime Academy is one of 23 campuses in the California State University system and is one of seven degree-granting maritime academies in the United States. It is located in Vallejo, California, just north of San Francisco.

Dry conditions and high winds have resulted in numerous large fires across the state in recent years but most fires have occurred far inland.

Today’s fire broke out around 9 a.m. this morning. Embers jumped the freeway and ignited above the California State University Maritime Academy campus, which prompted the evacuation students and staff from the area.

According to the San Luis Obispo Tribune, 55 acres had burned in Vallejo by mid-day. Two minor injuries to firefighters were reported.

According to a witness on campus, state fire trucks continue to pour into the region to fight the fire.

“Administrators are reporting campus has been safely evacuated,” reads a tweet that Cal Maritime officials posted 90 minutes after the evacuation message.

Update: Officials at California Maritime Academy report that campus has been safely evacuated.

A shelter was set up at 253 Georgia Street in downtown Vallejo.

One official said about 130 to 140 cadets were on campus at the time and evacuated in about 30 minutes.

All classes and activities have been cancelled for Monday and Tuesday.

No details yet on damage to the campus.

All cadets who were at the Georgia St. location following today's evacuation have been relocated to other housing. Cadets who still need housing assistance may call (707) 315-6745.

— Cal Maritime (@Cal_Maritime) October 28, 2019

About John Konrad

Captain John Konrad is the founder and CEO of gCaptain and author of the book Fire On The Horizon. He is licensed to captain the world's largest ships and has sailed from ports around the world. John has built some of the world's most advanced ships and managed billion-dollar offshore construction projects in some of the world's harshest marine environments. John is a distinguished alumnus of New York Maritime College.