[1] The purpose of Operation Chico was to test protection measures against atomic bomb fallout and other major disasters.
The operation was observed by top national and state civil defense officials and was declared a complete success.
Chico was subsequently named as the provisional capital of California in the event that Sacramento needed to be evacuated.
[2] Carl E. Hein, assistant professor of history at what was then Chico State College paid for an ad titled “A Test of What” that disputed the operation’s credibility.
In his ad, he pointed out that the evacuation of U.S. cities following a nuclear bomb would be impossible because shortly after an alarm had been sounded, bottlenecks would completely choke up the highways, and there would almost certainly be widespread panic.