It鈥檚 Not Just the Flames, It鈥檚 the Air Quality: As a Million Students Are Forced out of Class Due to California Wildfires and Smoke, State Schools Chief OKs Emergency Relief
Hazardous air quality caused by the wildfires still burning in Northern and Southern California have forced schools and universities to close throughout the state, and education officials to provide a range of supports as nearly two dozen counties have been affected.
Dozens of schools across and the surrounding areas closed Friday because of unhealthy air caused by the Camp Fire, California鈥檚 . Others . Many of the schools already planned to close this week for the Thanksgiving holiday, reported, but at least one school district, Albany Unified, reopened Monday.
The fires have canceled class for as many as 1.1 million K-12 students, according to an by CALmatters, a nonprofit California news website. The state reports that schools have had to close in . have also canceled classes because of air quality concerns.
Friday’s school closures will almost certainly break California’s single-day record for wildfire-related school closures: Oct. 12, 2017, when closures impacted 260,000 kids. Tomorrow? More than 1 million.
鈥 Ricardo Cano (@Ricardo_Cano1)
At least three school districts in canceled class last week because of the , which is still burning in Ventura County but is expected to be fully contained by Thursday. The half-million students of Los Angeles Unified are on break all Thanksgiving week. Malibu schools will remain through Thanksgiving, as the area is still under evacuation orders.
The Bay Area had some of the world鈥檚 most polluted air last week, according to an of air quality. San Francisco was second on the list Friday morning, behind Dhaka, Bangladesh, with a score of 259, which is considered 鈥渧ery unhealthy.鈥
A doctor in the Bay Area told he鈥檚 seen twice as many children having trouble breathing, likely caused by smoke blowing into the region from the Camp Fire.
“When they are running, or laughing, if that’s triggering a cough, I’m immediately worried about their lungs,” pediatrician Kellen Glinder told the station.
Poor air quality is causing the number of children with respiratory issues to double in some parts of the Bay Area.
鈥 ABC7 News (@abc7newsbayarea)
Children are especially vulnerable to harm from wildfire smoke because their airways are still developing and they breathe more air relative to their body weight than adults do, according to the .
To guard against the harmful air, the N95 or P100 masks, keeping doors and windows closed, rinsing out the nose and mouth with water, and staying inside buildings with purified air. (.)
However, Sacramento fire departments have , with officials saying they and are only necessary for those who need to work outside for a sustained amount of time. They urged everyone else to stay indoors as much as possible.
California education officials moved to help schools connect with the resources they need and to protect them from the funding they lose for every day a student is not in school.
鈥淭he state Department of Education has been activated at the State Operations Center of the Governor鈥檚 Office of Emergency Services and is working closely with school leaders in the impacted counties to provide a range of supports,鈥 state Superintendent Tom Torlakson said in a Thursday.
鈥淚 want to thank school districts for acting to protect educators and students, and to let them know that the California Department of Education will assist them in any way that we can. Safety must come first for students, teachers, and staff,鈥 Torlakson said in a follow-up released Friday.
Schools closed because of the fires can also apply for waivers so that they do not lose state funding based on the lost instructional time or decreased attendance. Torlakson districts where the air is toxic to continue keeping students indoors when they can.
The smoke鈥檚 origin, the Camp Fire, destroyed more than in and around Paradise in Butte County. The blaze also ravaged the school district there, leaving just one of Paradise Unified鈥檚 nine schools unharmed, EdSource .
Yet while Paradise High School still stands, , as many of its students and staff are now homeless, scattered wherever they could find housing. Students from the class of 2019 aren鈥檛 sure if they鈥檒l be able to graduate. More than 4,200 of the district鈥檚 students are now homeless, as are many of their teachers and school board members, according to EdSource.
Butte County Superintendent , who oversees Paradise schools, has set up a relief fund that will provide some students in the district with laptops they can use to connect with their teachers and complete assignments. A law known as the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act requires public schools to accept students who are homeless even if they don鈥檛 have their school or immunization records or proof of residency.
Other Butte County districts are to reopen Dec. 3.
So far the Camp Fire has killed 77 people, and 933 people are missing, reported Monday. Rain is in the for Tuesday and Wednesday, which is expected to clear the air and could help .
Officials are working to get students in Butte County, where the fire is still burning, back to class. Taylor, the county superintendent, said portable classrooms are a possible solution to replace the damaged schools.
鈥淲e鈥檙e not asking for Taj Mahal,鈥 Taylor told the . 鈥淲e鈥檙e just asking for a place for kids to have a school.鈥
Did you use this article in your work?
We鈥檇 love to hear how 蜜桃影视鈥檚 reporting is helping educators, researchers, and policymakers.