In August 2009, Southern California faced a natural disaster that affected many lives in the area. Wildfire which had started off somewhere in the Los Angeles County had spread like a virus into the four corners of the winds. It was reported that of all the areas that were affected Los Angeles and Riverside County were the areas that mostly damaged. The map in source 2 provided below showed how the fire first spread and when it was contained.
Particularly Los Angeles County, the area where the fire had spread to was located near schools that later on had to be closed due to the danger of fire, bad air quality, and heat watch. Many of the schools in the area such as Crescenta Valley High School, which initially was an evacuation center, had to be evacuated out of the fire territory into a different school nearby. (Lopez).
The schools that were originally planned to start in the fall had to be closed down because of the poor air quality. These schools are mostly in the Glendale School District, Los Angeles School District, La Canada School District, and Pasadena School District. (Knoll). Although not all of these schools are in danger of the fire, some of the schools that had been closed down are due to the fact that the schools are being used as an evacuation center.
There is really no indication of distance as to how far from the fire should a school be in order to stay open. This is mainly because there are a lot of factors to consider such as the direction the wind blows and how fast the fire is spreading. Normally the school needed to be closed within 10 miles radius of the fire. (Lin). These schools are Brainard Elementary, Gateway, La Canada, Valleyview, and many more. However, the fire watch had been extensively exceptional around the clock. The boundaries in the map above showed that the schools within 5 miles – 10 miles had to be closed down. Between 10 – 15 miles are being watched very closely and schools that are not part of the boundary are being used as evacuation center.
While the fire had affected many lives of the people, firefighter McBride states that this incident is a lesson for everyone to always prepare for the worst to come. (Lopez). The students in the school district that had been closed down for about a month had to make up most of the materials they missed during the school year and partly thereafter. These schools reopened late in September or early October when the fires were tamed and air quality had improved. (Lin).
Work Cited
Knoll, Corina. "Air Quality Suffers, Schools Stay Closed and Animals Find Shelter - Los Angeles Times." Featured Articles From The Los Angeles Times. 31 Aug. 2009. Web. 08 June 2011.
Lin, Rong-Gong. "La Cañada Fire Spreads toward Altadena; Big Tujunga Canyon Road Closed - Latimes.com." Politics, National,California, Washington, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, John McCain, Republican, Democrat, President, Election - Top of the Ticket - Latimes.com. Web. 08 June 2011.
Lin, Rong-Gong. "Los Angeles Fire Map: Mt. Wilson, Tujunga, Acton, Altadena, Pasadena, Sierra Madre - Latimes.com." Los Angeles Times - California, National and World News - Latimes.com. Web. 08 June 2011.
Lopez, Robert. "Fire Crews Battling to save Hundreds of Homes as Wildfires Rage in Southern California - Latimes.com." Politics, National, California, Washington, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, John McCain, Republican, Democrat, President, Election - Top of the Ticket - Latimes.com. Web. 08 June 2011.
Sullivan, Danny. "California Wildfires: August & September 2009 Edition." Search Engine Land: Must Read News About Search Marketing & Search Engines. 18 Aug. 2009. Web. 08 June 2011.
