As wildfires continue to devastate parts of Southern California, administrators at Thomas Aquinas College can’t help but think back to 2017, when the Catholic school in Santa Paula was nearly consumed by flames.
The Thomas Fire, sparked from a high-voltage power line, scorched over 280,000 acres and destroyed more than 1,000 buildings in the area around the college. Remarkably, it spared most of TAC’s campus, but it underscored the urgent need to enhance the school’s fire resilience.
“After the Thomas Fire, it became clear that we needed to take steps to ensure that we were more resilient to fire threats in the future,” explained Mark Kretschmer, the college’s vice president for operations. “The fire had blocked both access roads to the campus, and the first responders could not get through. We were without power for several days, and during that time, we experienced frequent rolling blackouts, a problem many Southern Californians know all too well.”
Since then, Thomas Aquinas College has invested nearly $5 million in infrastructure and technology to protect not just its students and faculty, but also the broader community, in the event of another fire in the region.
Helicopter host
One of the most significant improvements was the installation of a helispot — an essential landing zone for firefighting helicopters — on the southeastern ridge of the campus in 2021.
Designed to accommodate the needs of a Firehawk helicopter, the helispot allows aerial firefighting units to quickly refill their water tanks from a 60,000-gallon storage tank fed by two spring-water pumps.

“The addition of the helispot is one of the key ways we can help first responders in a crisis,” Kretschmer continued. “If the roads are blocked, firefighting helicopters can still reach us to refill, ensuring that we can continue to support the effort to contain the fire. The location and design of the helispot were chosen with rapid deployment and maximum efficiency in mind.”
Energy independence
Thomas Aquinas College has also made substantial investments in energy infrastructure to ensure that critical systems, including the helispot’s water pumps, work during power outages. Last year, the college completed a state-of-the-art energy plant that allows it to operate independently from California’s power grid. This clean-energy system uses natural gas provided by a neighboring oil field to generate electricity.
“We knew that reliable power was essential for our water systems to function during emergencies, and we wanted to ensure we could operate without being vulnerable to grid shutdowns during high-risk fire conditions,” Kretschmer said. “With our new energy system in place, we’ve been able to maintain power when others around us have experienced outages.”
The project, which was funded by Thomas Aquinas College through a combination of borrowing and fundraising, will save the college hundreds of thousands of dollars in energy costs, offsetting the initial outlay over time.
“We’ve created an infrastructure that will provide both immediate benefits in times of crisis and long-term savings for the college,” said Kretschmer. “It’s a model of self-reliance and foresight.”
‘A more secure environment for everyone’
Beyond protecting the college itself, the school’s improvements could have far-reaching benefits for Ventura County. Local fire officials have thanked Thomas Aquinas College for its proactive approach to wildfire preparedness, particularly the new helispot.
“Thomas Aquinas College has always been a partner in the past with the use of the soccer field for temporary landing zones, but the addition of the permanent helispot provides consistency and a tactical advantage by allowing us to refill aerial firefighting aircraft more quickly,” Ventura County Fire Chief Dustin Gardner said in a 2023 letter to the college.
“Through innovation and investment in our infrastructure, we’ve created a more secure environment for everyone,” Thomas Aquinas College president Paul O’Reilly told OSV. “We are ready to assist first responders in any way we can. This is about prudent planning and a commitment to our community — protecting our campus and helping safeguard our neighbors as well.”