In the aftermath of wildfires that raged through southern California last month, the Boston University Admissions Office is offering an extension on the application deadline for prospective students affected by the blazes.

Although students have the option of calling the office and explaining their situations to get extensions, BU spokesman Colin Riley said he does not know of any requests so far.

“We want [students] to be in communication with us,” Riley said. “With any community that has had a situation where it would disrupt their ability to apply to Boston University, we’ll take those cases on a one-on-one basis.”

The BU administration was equally as understanding toward students whose lives were disrupted when Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans in 2005, Riley said.

Calabasas High School senior Annie Nam said although the wildfires – which were declared a national emergency – destroyed thousands of homes across seven counties, most students in the area have had enough time to apply to universities without extensions because the regular application deadline for most schools is Jan. 1.

Students who want to apply for the Nov. 1 early decision deadline could probably benefit from the extension, said Nam, a California resident applying to colleges.

“I think it’s a good thing that they’re doing this on a case-by-case basis,” Nam said. “You don’t know if someone wants that extension for the right reasons, so it says a lot if they make the effort to call and ask for one.”

Some BU students said the extension could help prospective students applying for the regular application deadline as well.

“Some of these people are still trying to get their lives in order,” said College of Fine Arts junior Sarah Kim, who is from southern California. “If your entire house burned down, [applying to schools] is not the first thing on your mind.”