Why build a school in a fire area?

The fires that attacked all of Southern California should have a strong impact one more time on all of our lives. Are we prepared to evacuate quickly? Do we know what to take from our houses? Is there a meeting point for families? Is there a prepared list with all items to take? Is there a planned evacuation route and can we get our children and animals out safely?

I live in a designated fire area. Most major insurance carriers such as AAA and Farmers' Insurance and others will not insure our house because we are one block from the Chesebro fire corridor, as they have called it. We are very concerned about evacuation and congestion to get out of our area.

State Senator Dianne Feinstein went on record after the horrific firestorms and said the state needs to stiffen the building codes about future building in these dangerous fire areas. We have gridlock now at the Chesebro overpass, and it gets blocked whenever there is a major incident. The winds have proven one more time that fighting fires is anything but guaranteed.

One more time we have to block the building of Heschel School in the Chesebro corridor as one more time areas such as that have been proven not only unsafe but would create far more congestion for the residents and families already living in the area to evacuate safely and quickly.

This is an area of safety to the existing families in the area, the students who attend Agoura High and the students who attend the two preschools at Chesebro and Driver streets. Why would you put future students of Heschel School at that peril either? Darryl Levine Agoura Hills