RECOVERY BEGINS

Community chips in as fire relief operations get underway



ROLL OUT—Workers prepare to use blower and scrubber equipment in the classrooms of the Las Virgenes Unified School District. Courtesy of Dan Stepenosky/LVUSD

ROLL OUT—Workers prepare to use blower and scrubber equipment in the classrooms of the Las Virgenes Unified School District. Courtesy of Dan Stepenosky/LVUSD

Schools set to resume

Students received an extended Thanksgiving break due to the Woolsey fire, and while the blaze caused no major damage to local campuses, workers still needed time to clean air conditioners, remove debris and make the classrooms habitable again.

Both the Las Virgenes and Oak Park unified school districts will reopen classes on Mon., Nov. 26.

Flames from the fire reached the doorstep of both Oak Park and Agoura high schools. All campuses in both school districts were swamped with ash.

OPUSD Superintendent Tony Knight said that while the students are away, crews have been sanitizing playgrounds, power-washing buildings and trying to purge the smell of smoke that has lingered throughout the community for more than a week.

“Our synthetic field at the high school can’t be used until it’s thoroughly washed. Otherwise kids running around on it would be kicking up ash,” Knight said.

“Not only are we thoroughly cleaning the insides and sanitizing (our schools) . . . but any of the playground surfaces, the bars and things like that, all have to be thoroughly cleaned. Sandboxes too, they have to be flooded with water so that it washes the particulates out of them,” he said.

There was no cost estimate for the Oak Park Unified School District recovery.

The story is much the same for Las Virgenes schools. Superintendent Dan Stepenosky said that Agoura High School lost several of its small sheds to the fire and other campuses looked as though they might be lost but, in the end, all of the district’s main structures were spared.

“We need to replace the (air conditioning) filters, run the air, scrub the air, then replace the filters again and scrub the air. We may do that two to four times to get the air quality up. Wipe down surfaces, vacuum carpets, getting the particulate matter out—that’s our focus now,” the superintendent said.

LVUSD had nine separate air conditioning crews on the job Nov. 17.

Las Virgenes repairs will cost more than $3 million, Stepenosky said, but the district’s insurance will cover it. Once the work is completed, third-party inspectors will visit campuses and certify they are safe for classes to resume.

Both Oak Park and Las Virgenes bosses said their school years will end on schedule.

Also, both districts are working to take care of their communities. The families of some students and staffers lost their homes, and both LVUSD and OPUSD are raising funds to help out.

Classroom aides at Brookside Elementary School in Oak Park organized a pop-up shop to collect clothes, gift cards and other necessities. (See story on Page 25.) The goal of Oak Park donors is to raise $100,000.

In Las Virgenes, district staffers have been calling families to see if they need clothes and housing.

“The YMCA is collecting cash donations,” Stepenosky said. “We have a lot of families who are stepping up and volunteering, helping each other out. That’s the beautiful part of this. It’s heartbreaking to see (the destruction). My kids were scrambling and evacuating at 1 in the morning. It traumatized them, so I can only imagine what’s happened to families that have younger kids that lost their homes, the trauma they’re going through.

“The inspirational part of it all is how people are coming together to support (each other),” the superintendent said.

LVUSD answers fire questions

What is the district’s strategy for restoring the campuses? LVUSD has worked with multiple experts, including insurance analysts, an industrial hygienist and property restoration contractors to determine all work that needs to be completed on each campus prior to returning to schools.

Will students and staff need to make up the missed days? The district will apply for a waiver with the California Dept. of Education requesting not to have to make up days.

Will the winter and spring breaks go as scheduled? The dates for winter and spring breaks will not change.

Do families have to replace books and laptops that burned? No. The school will provide replacement books and equipment to the students as soon as they are available.

How can we help those from our school who are in need? The Foundation for Las Virgenes Schools is gathering donations for families who have lost their homes. Visit thefoundationlvs.org/help-fire-victims.

Courtesy of LVUSD