California’s prison system is critically unprepared for natural disasters such as wildfires, floods, and earthquakes, according to a scathing new audit by the Office of the Inspector General. The report confirmed long-standing concerns raised by advocates, including Californians United for a Responsible Budget (CURB), which warned this week that the state’s failure to plan could have life-threatening consequences for people incarcerated in its facilities.
The audit, which reviewed emergency preparedness at 30 state prisons and conducted in-depth assessments at Valley State Prison, San Quentin Rehabilitation Center, and the California Rehabilitation Center, found that no prison had an adequate plan to evacuate people beyond its gates. Most emergency plans used vague language and failed to include any concrete procedures or designated routes to move incarcerated individuals off-site in the event of a disaster. In the event of a full-scale evacuation, this lack of planning would cause delays and put lives at risk.
CURB described the findings as devastating but not surprising. The group noted that California prisons lack the buses, staffing, and consistent risk assessments necessary to respond effectively to climate emergencies. Despite having clear state guidance on how to structure evacuation procedures, none of the prisons included in the audit had sufficient plans. Instead, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation continues to rely on outdated assumptions about sheltering in place and transporting individuals only in partial evacuations.
State Senator Laura Richardson, chair of the Senate Public Safety Subcommittee, responded to the audit with outrage. She said the report amounted to “an F,” calling it “probably one of the worst that I’ve seen of all the hearings.” Her reaction underscores the urgency of the situation, especially as California faces more frequent and intense climate-related disasters.
Over the past year alone, state prisons have weathered a deadly heatwave at Central California Women’s Facility, a tsunami threat at San Quentin, and a wildfire scare near Pelican Bay. An earlier report, Hidden Hazards, published by UCLA’s Luskin School of Public Affairs and the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, found that 18 of California’s 34 state prisons are especially vulnerable to extreme heat, wildfires, or flooding. The OIG audit reinforced those findings and provided additional context about the logistical failures within the state’s correctional system.
Among the audit’s more troubling discoveries was the inadequacy of California’s prison transportation fleet. The state has only 30 buses for evacuations, many of which have clocked more than 500,000 miles. At some prisons, the closest transportation hub is located more than 400 miles away, making swift deployment nearly impossible in an emergency. Overcrowding within facilities compounds the problem. The state’s prisons are operating at 122 percent of their design capacity, further complicating any mass evacuation effort. In several regions, neighboring facilities would need to evacuate at the same time during a wildfire, doubling the demand on limited resources.
The audit also found that prison staff often rely on inconsistent methods to assess climate risk. Some neighboring prisons evaluated their wildfire or flood risk using different criteria, leading to contradictory results. In one case, Corcoran State Prison rated its flood risk as low in 2024—just a year after facing near-immediate flooding. The failure to update emergency plans after these incidents demonstrates a systemic lack of oversight. Although CDCR policy requires each facility to revise its plan annually, the OIG found no evidence that recent disasters led to any significant changes. In addition, the Emergency Planning Unit within CDCR lacks the staff and authority to enforce compliance, meaning outdated or incomplete plans often go unchecked.
The OIG also noted that many prisons lacked mutual aid agreements or included agreements with missing contact information and unclear partner roles. These agreements, intended to help coordinate with local first responders, are critical during disasters, yet often exist only in name.
Dax Proctor, statewide coordinator for CURB, emphasized that the lives of people in prison are not expendable. He said the state’s inability to prepare for climate emergencies shows a disregard for human life. “The climate crisis is already here,” Proctor said. “No plan means no protection.” While the OIG suggested that decommissioned prisons could serve as temporary relocation sites, CURB strongly opposed the idea, pointing out that these facilities suffer from deteriorating infrastructure and cannot safely house evacuees during emergencies.
The Legislative Analyst’s Office has proposed a more comprehensive solution: closing additional prisons, which would both reduce overcrowding and save taxpayers an estimated $1.5 billion annually. Advocates agree that further closures, coupled with reinvestment in community safety and public health, would strengthen the state’s ability to respond to disasters.
CDCR has not yet announced how it will respond to the audit or whether it will implement the OIG’s recommendations. The Inspector General has requested updates from the department at 60 days, six months, and one year after publication to track any progress. For now, the audit serves as a dire warning that California’s prison system remains dangerously underprepared for the challenges posed by a rapidly changing climate. As disaster season intensifies, the risks grow with each passing day.
