Morgan Mitchell interview on the 2017 Tubbs Fire, April 17, 2023

Ok. So for this project, I will be interviewing Morgan Mitchell. She was a freshman during the 2017 tubs fire. So Morgan, can you tell me, um or can you describe, uh what the night of October 8th was like, because some would describe it as a weird

night and tell me more how that night was for you. And are there any like specific, um, moments that you remember from it? Yeah, absolutely. So, um I was a freshman, I was two months into my, you know, career at SOMA State and all. And that

night I always left my window open. I'm just a really hot sleeper. So the window was open, my roommate and I were in our dorm room and we lived in. So, um in the second story and as we like had opened the door and went to

bed, we were kind of like, oh, it's kind of smoky outside. Like you can like smell the smoke in the air. But both myself and my roommate were from out of town. So it wasn't really anything to worry about. And then I grew up in Sacramento.

So the smell of smoke outside was just that, like, somebody had their fireplace going at night time to kind of keep warm during the cold nights in Sacramento. Um, or just like a campfire outside. So I was like, yeah, whatever I'm going to bed. So that's

what I did. I went to bed and, uh, the next morning. So I don't know if this is like the eighth or the ninth. I think it must have been the ninth. Yeah, the eighth was the, um, the night. Yeah, that, yeah, the fire started. So

then the ninth. So when I woke up, uh, by the grace of God, actually, I think of this all the time, I, I never sleep with my headphones in, but my roommate was actually snoring pretty loud that night if she hears this, I apologize. Um, so

I had put my headphones in and I'd fallen asleep with my headphones in and so my phone was underneath my pillow and I got woken about 5 a.m. to my friend calling me and she was like, I pick up and I was like, hi, she's like

Morgan, like, are you awake? And I think what, I don't know what day it was but like, I know that next morning at 8 a.m. class, I wanna say it was like a Friday or something. Um, and she was like, are you awake? And I was

like, no, it's five AMI have class at eight. Like, I'm going back to bed and she's like no, like you need to wake up like you need to leave. There's a fire and her name is Nicole and I was like, Nicole, what the hell is going

on? She's like, have you like looked outside? And I was like, no, I just woke up so we look outside or I look outside and I was like, holy fuck. So I immediately hang up, I wake up my roommate. Um I'm like, I don't know what

to do because she and I are freaking out. My entire house is like freaking out. There's six of us in there and I called my parents because I didn't know what to do. So my dad ends up like he hangs up the phone and he facetime

me and he's like, here's what you need to do. You need to grab all of your important like documents. So you know your passport, your social security card, any of your W twos um all of your like school paperwork, bring your laptop and he goes like

minimal clothing like whatever you can pack in a bag in 10 minutes. Like you need to be out of that place in like 15, so 15 minutes later, like my roommate and I were leaving our apartment for, we had no idea if like we were going

to come back to a school because at that point, we had no idea what was going on. We were getting alerts on our phones from that issue like alert system. Um The news was fucking going crazy and every sorry it was going crazy and everything. So

I hopped in my car. Um, and I was like, talking to my, I was like, let me know when you're safe, like you, we'll figure it out, but the worst part about it was, um, actually I'll get to that part in a minute. So I get

in my car, I turn it on. Um, I have 15 miles off my gas tank and the gas stations across the street from ST State. Um, whatever that, like, it's not a park, it's a 76 I believe. Yeah, the 76. Yeah, 76. The, so the 76

is on, like your left side, like corner. Um, there was lines going down all four directions and so, like you were at a stoplight and like, even though it turned green, like there's nowhere to go because everybody was waiting to get gas because they needed to

get out. So I finally found a gas station and I think it was, and this is so embarrassing. This is my first car or my, like, it's my new car. I've never really done anything with it. So I went to this gas station to go, um,

fill my gas tank and I accidentally pulled the hood lover and said that the gas lover and I had never opened my hood before, so I didn't know how to close it I know there's a little tab. So I'm trying to like hit the tab to

open it up and close it. And I'm sitting there crying and like, literally having a panic attack. And this like super nice dad comes over and he goes, hey, take a deep breath, like what's going on? And so I was like, I, I actually opened up

my hood and I don't know how to close it. Um So he like pulls the lever for me and he opens it for me and he's like, do you just need it to be closed? So I was like, yeah, so he and I close it together.

He was like, take a deep breath like you are going to be ok. So I was like, thank you, I pulled up my gas tank and I hit the 101 and everybody knows like driving to Petaluma, you're fast 10 minutes if you're slow 20. Um It

took me 2, 2.5 hours to get from Kati to Catala on the 101. And at that point, I live in Sacramento. So my drive home, I had to take 37 because highway 12 was closed um through Sonoma and Napa. So it was like, ok, I have

to get to Nevada somehow so I can get over to the 37 and then they close 37. So how long did it take you? How long does it take you normally to get to and from home. And how long did it take you this day? So,

normally it takes me an hour, 45 2 hours, depending on the kind of time of day and everything. Uh, it took me six hours to get home. So three times, three times longer. So three times longer. Not including the two hours I like, sat in traffic

in Petaluma and I called my parents and they're like, where are you? And I was like middle of nowhere in between and Petaluma. But um thankfully at the time, my mom's uh job that she was working at had an office in Petaluma. So she called and

said, hey, my daughter needs to evacuate. Can she stay at your office until we can figure out what to do? And then they were like, absolutely palma like, shouldn't be affected whatsoever. Like have her come over to my mom's office in Petaluma and I waited there

for, you know, an hour and I, they turned on the radio for me so I could listen to live updates and I heard they said 37 is open and I barely even said goodbye to like these sweet women that like were helping me and I was

like, 37 is open. I gotta go and they were like, go go, well, you're gonna like, we'll talk to you later. So I helped my car. I got on 37 3 minutes after I got on it, they closed 37. And as I'm driving through, like, you

can still see the fires on both sides. You can see the smoke and everything like it is smoldering, um, standstill traffic because here in Simon County, like we live in a bowl. So it hard there like one way in one way out and when the fire

is coming this way, like you have to go the other way. But I remember when I was in Petaluma, I, I like went to this little grocery store across the street also because I was like, well been up since 5 a.m. It's now noon. Um, not

eaten anything. So I walked over to the grocery store, had a little bit of time and you just saw cars and trucks with dogs and cats and I saw llamas and horses and yeah, like all of the animals that you can think of on a farm,

like these people were saving them. So then I finally made it home and they never really give us an answer about when we could come home, um, or go back to school. So it was kind of like a waiting game every day to see when classes

would resume if they would resume what was going on. So that was, uh, two months into snow or freshman year. Wow, no words for that. Honestly. Um, so with that, what would you say, or like some changes that have happened in your life since like, can

you, like, can you add to that, um, because of the fire? Yeah. Yeah. So, you know, that was my freshman year, the next three years we also had pretty big fires here in Sonoma County and around Sonoma. Um, so I kind of figured out September through

October, like fire season for us. And, uh, I packed up every single, so the next four years I lived up in Sonoma State or around the area. And even now still being here, I, during those two months, I always have a bag ready and it's packed

with my essentials, has my important documents or I have those in a folder ready to grab or like a binder or something. Um I, I will literally pack up all my like important jewelry and photos and like my Mementos that I desperately want. Um like, you

know that question and they say like if your house is on fire and you've grabbed like all your family, friends or all your family and all your pets, like, what else are you going in for? Um that I had that packed uh literally have go bags.

I made all my roommates over the the years like packed them as well. Um And then, you know, 2019, I was in another the other fire and the evacuation like zone was um a quarter mile from my house. So during that time, I had liter tubs

in my car, I was driving around to and from work with tubs in my car in case I needed to leave that it's maybe a lot more cautious and it made me figure out what actually is important to me and like what, um, I can fit

in or what I need to live kind of thing. Uh, so I don't carry on all the silly stuff anymore. It's more all the important things for me. It definitely helps you realize things. Um, so I definitely, like, want to know more what it was like

from a student perspective, especially on how you think the university handled this emergency. Like, um, is there anything you, like, how do you think the, em, the university handled this and with that, like, is there anything you wish they did differently? And like, and, yeah, just

tell me more about that. Yeah. Um, I think it's pretty disappointing that I had to wake up to a roommate call or, like a friend calling me to notify me that there was this catastrophe happening and, like, I needed to leave and it wasn't until a

couple of hours after, like, I had woken up that, um, she started sending out the alerts saying, like, you have to evacuate or I don't think it was a, have to, I think at that point it was, um, a recommended, not a recommended just thing. Um,

so they kind of let you know almost around the same time you would be going to class if it's like 5 a.m. You have class at 8 a.m. Yeah, that's when they were like, oh, it's a recommended evacuation. Um, if you have a car and then

it turned into, uh, the air in the sky is like, so bad. So if you are still on campus, come to the rec center and, like, we'll give you the A 95. Um, and so, you know, you saw a lot of people walking around with those

and then after that, that's when they said if you're not gone, like you need to meet us at the rec center and we're putting everybody on buses and you're leaving. So campus must have been very chaotic. Was it trying to get out of there was insane?

And like you just um would you say like a lot of people were out? Yeah, at 5 a.m. in October, you know, the sky is typically pretty dark and black. Um I have Snapchat videos still of that day and I was like, it was on a

fire. Uh It was one of the most like petrifying moments of my entire life and I think to no mistake could handle catastrophes a lot better in general. Um Speaking on, you know, multiple issues here, but for the fire system that they had, um I think

the ssu like alert system has a lot of tweaks that need to be happened or like need to be made. And I don't think that they have ever been or in the present day are prepared for a catastrophe of that size again. Yeah. And I mean,

this is a definitely a tough question but like, save the fires, like, you're get all clear to come back to campus when that happens. Like, what was in transition, like back to school or even if you were working or, and how did that affect your health?

Like mental well being like, yeah, you know, um it was kind of difficult, I'm not gonna lie to you. So, you know, you move into campus middle of August, right? Then you're there for half of August middle September in the first week of October. So you're

only just now getting acclimated to going to classes kind of taking care of yourself living an independent life away from your family and your parents, something like this happens. Then you're thrown right back into your parents' house. Um, so things are definitely different and then you

are expected to come back to the place like you thought you're supposed to be safe like it was your home and all of a sudden there's no like mental health help really. And I don't mean any like offense to cops at the school, but um, they

were not prepared for that. Um, nor were they prepared for like the students who lost their actual homes? It being a computer school, like, I know a ton of my friends and a ton of people that I know, um, lost their homes in Coffee Park and

to this day, like they're still being rebuilt kind of thing or they had to sell it off the properties. And I don't think the school was prepared for that. Um, personally speaking, every time I smoke, smoke in the air for the next, like, two years I

had a panic attack and I was thrown back into that. So that means that following summer when there was a campfire in my backyard or there's a fireplace during Christmas, um or you know, you're at the beach and your friends have a bonfire or anything doing

with smoke. My body had like an adverse reaction to it and I had to remind myself like, no, you are safe. You're in a contained area. Like this is a contained fire, everything's fine. But when something like that happens, you have to like live through it

like your body goes into fight or flight no matter how many years later it is like even to this day, like I still deal with um smelling like smoke in the air and freaking out. I'm like, ok, it's March. Why is there smoke? Yeah, we're going

to bed and it's like, oh my God. And I smell something and like, realistically speaking, I know it's a fireplace in my neighbor's house, but my body doesn't know that and it thinks I'm gonna, and I will wake up the next morning at like 5 a.m.

like, my body just wake myself up because of that, like, trauma response. But you have to, it. Yeah. So then when you got back to, like, classes and such or even, like, during, during and before this, like, how did the fire impact your classes if it

did? Like, was it hard to turn in assignments? Like, and then when you got back to campus, was it hard to get to class or even, like, feel the motivation for completing courses? Sure. Um, I'm not gonna lie. I don't remember a whole time after that

since that was about five years ago for me. Wow, six years ago, for me, 5.5. Um, I do remember that, uh, my classes were pretty empty coming back to campus however long it was, um, because a lot of the students were commuter students so they had

lost their homes, they had no place to be so they couldn't come to class. They weren't even in ST County for the majority of them. Um, and I remember kind of like the open day, like open door policy just so that everybody kind of felt safe

not being in a confined area anymore. Um, what I do remember though is the professors were very kind and they were very understanding since like a lot of them are from the area and they live in County and they were experiencing it from students at SSU

and a lot of them are also dual professors at Santa Rosa Junior College. So they were seeing both sides of it. So they're seeing the actual students who live here and the ones who came to visit here, plus the ones that live here. Um So I

hope their resources were a lot better than the ones that were provided to the students for sure. But um the professors were like a saving grace throughout that time. Yeah. So, I mean, I know you're able to complete your degree. But during that time, like, do,

did you consider taking a break from school during the fire or like due to the fire? Like did like, tell, tell, tell us more. Yeah, 100%. Um, I was afraid to, like come back to the campus. Um, I had to call my parents, like, as I

was pulling up to the county because I was like freaking out and my mom had to actually, like, walk me through breathing exercises because I was like, so afraid to come back here and like unpack and get back to normal life. It nothing like seem real.

And then after that first year, other bad things that it happened. And so with the combination of the fires and then the murder, um I was done, I, I did not want to be there anymore. Um, but the only reason I stayed was because I didn't

have enough transferable units yet. Yeah, that's, that's tough. Um How if it all like did life on campus change after the fire? Like, did you just, like, notice anything significant in, like, student life that was, um, yeah, things weren't held outside anymore. Like, you know, you

always see all the sororities and fraternities and the clubs like tabling that did not happen for a couple of weeks afterwards because there was still so much smoke in the air. They were still passing out the N95 S or whatever, the mask with the ventilator and

you could get like one per day, like they would like scan your student ID or whatever, like they tagged a mask to you. So you wouldn't get multiple per day. Um It was, it was crazy. It took like a good month or two to get back

to normal. Yeah. And then in what ways like would you say, did Sonoma State help students recover and or cope after it turns to the fire and like what resources were offered? And did you utilize any of them? Um So like I said earlier, caps was

accessible to the students. Um That being said, caps only has a certain amount of like therapy hours that you can actually take part of. Um which for the students who actually genuinely needed it, that was never gonna be enough for them. And so I think that

the resources the school offered were more or less for show and they didn't actually genuinely care about the well being of their students. So I never reached out to any sort of therapist on campus or any sort of mental health resources because I know there are

students who needed it more than I did and I had resources outside of the school. Um, personally, for me, I just, I did not want to be tied down to that place anymore. And so I did not want to make any sort of relationship through the

school that, um, would make me feel like bogged down if that makes sense. Yeah. Well, thank you for all of this insight. I know it was a crazy time during just a year for, for a lot of people who experienced it. So thanks for sharing. Of

course, I can't believe it's like a 5.5 years ago that that happened. I know, I know crazy. But thanks again, Morgan. You're welcome.