*This story was updated at 10:08 a.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 6.*

Although Governor Gavin Newsom proclaimed a state of emergency on Sunday, Feb. 4, due to the heavy rain in Southern California, Fullerton College announced it will still hold in person classes on Monday, Feb. 5, through text message and email sent out by the Office of Campus Communications.

The message, sent around 7:23 p.m., said that there are currently no plans to close the school. However, a new notice is set to be sent tomorrow by 6 a.m. which will either confirm or change this decision.

The email contained more information in regards to the college monitoring the storms and the effects it could have in the “surrounding areas” of the school.

“I’ve been in communication with District leaders, local K-12 Superintendents, and regional community college Presidents,” said Fullerton College President Cynthia Olivo in a text message sent to The Hornet. “For now, we’re planning to open and we will update the campus by 6 a.m.”

At approximately 6:08 a.m. on Monday, Feb. 5, Fullerton College confirmed via text message and email that all classes, programs, and services will remain open and in session.

As the rain continues into Tuesday, Feb. 6, it was decided Fullerton College would continue to be fully open as scheduled. This was confirmed with an email and text message from FC around 6:25 a.m.

While Fullerton College still remains open, California State University, Fullerton already announced that it will move to remote classes due to the storm, while leaving only a small amount of staff members working on campus.

However, CSUF announced on their Instagram at 2:50 p.m. Monday, Feb. 5 that they would resume regularly scheduled classes on Tuesday as well.

When asked via text message from The Hornet why or how FC came to their decision to stay open, President Olivo said, “Fullerton College officials were in contact with 10 community colleges in the region, the largest local k-12 school districts, and city leaders in order to determine and align decisions accordingly.”

Different areas from Orange County and Los Angeles County were issued evacuation warnings due to potential flooding that can be caused by the heavy rain, as reported by CNN and other local news outlets.

FC has previously canceled classes due to heavy rain with the last occasion being on Aug. 21, 2023 on account of Hurricane Hilary. This decision postponed the start of the Fall 2023 semester by a day.

If you are not receiving updates from the Fullerton College Office of Campus Communications, make sure you email and cell phone number are entered and up-to-date in myGateway.