For the latest on all the fires affecting Southern California visit Fire.ca.gov. For LA County visit LACounty.gov/emergency or LAFD.org/alerts For safety tips and other information on how to prepare for emergencies and evacuations visit fire.lacounty.gov.
LOS ANGELES (CNS) – All Los Angeles Unified School District schools will be closed for the rest of the week, along with campuses in several other districts, as fierce winds continue to fan a series of wildfires.
LAUSD schools were already closed on Thursday due to the various fires and resulting poor air quality. The district announced around midday Thursday that it would keep campuses closed Friday.
“The confluence of factors — wind, fire and smoke — have created unpredictable, complex situations that present potentially unsafe conditions for our school communities,” according to a district statement. “Select essential personnel will be contacted by their supervisors regarding potential work duties. As the Los Angeles region continues responding to this unprecedented crisis, the health and safety of our students and employees are of the utmost importance.”
The district will again distribute meals for students on Friday, but will double to number of distribution sites to 16. The distribution will occur from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. Friday at:
— North region: Mulholland Middle School, Sepulveda Middle School, San Fernando Middle School, Richard E. Byrd Middle School;
— East region: Hollenbeck Middle School, South Gate High School, Los Angeles Academy Middle School, John H. Liechty Middle School;
— South region: Fremont High School, Harry Bridges Span School, Edwin Markham Middle School, Barack Obama Global Preparation Academy; and
— West region: Marina Del Rey Middle School, Sonia Sotomayor Arts and Sciences Magnet, Berendo Middle School, Fairfax High School.
All schools in the Glendale Unified School District, Burbank Unified School District, La Cañada Unified School District and the Pasadena Unified School District will also be closed Friday, along with schools in the Alhambra, South Pasadena, San Marino, Arcadia and Monrovia unified school districts. All schools in the Santa Monica Malibu Unified School District will also be closed Friday.
UCLA Chancellor Julio Frenk said the university will “curtail campus operations, cancel undergraduate classes and move graduate courses to remote instruction” on Friday. Frenk said that while there is no fire danger to the campus, given an unexpected change in the wind patterns, school officials anticipate the air quality in Westwood to worsen.
The Pasadena City College campus will be closed through Sunday, according to a notice on its website, which said that operations are suspended and classes are canceled until that time.
Caltech advised online that it was closed Thursday, but intends to resume operations Friday, pending assessments of the situation. Although the campus is not under direct threat from local fires, “gusty winds and smoky air continue to impact the campus” and hundreds of Caltech staff, faculty, and non- resident students have been affected, the school stated.
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