Cave Junction, Ore. — A local school district is addressing parents’ concerns over evacuation plans, should certain areas hit level three during the school day.
“I hope, I hope that nothing bad is going to happen. I don’t think anything bad is going to happen, but we should still be prepared,” said Christine Velasquez. Velasquez is an Illinois Valley High School mom. Her concern – what the school has planned if the Chetco Bar Fire causes a Level 3 evacuation during the school day.
“The more I get told – don’t worry about it – the more I worry,” Velasquez said.
Velasquez also said she and a friend reached out to Three Rivers School District for information, but got less than what they hoped for.
“We have a plan in action that we are in constant communication with the authorities so – don’t worry about it, everything’s okay,” Velasquez said.
That’s an answer fellow mom Angela Engel didn’t appreciate much either.
“No one could tell me anything except for – oh, we do have a plan in place but we can’t tell you,” Engel said.
The school district however, said it is prepared for any emergency situation that may come up.
“Safety is our number one concern. Especially when we’re in an event like this. We have wildfires, we have smoke, we are doing everything we can to keep our students safe,” said Superintendent David Valenzuela. He said each school has an evacuation plan called an Emergency Response Guide or ERG.
“We review those annually, we vet those with local law enforcement, with fire agencies. So it’s not just our concept of what we should be doing. There’s actually professionals telling us – this is how we should respond,” Valenzuela said.
So if there is a plan in place why is it kept secret? The superintendent said because of the explicit directions for protocol – it’d be counter productive.
“Intruders or people who want to do harm to the schools would have that information and know how we would systematically prevent them from doing that. So that would defeat the purpose,” Valenzuela said.
However, that reason still isn’t enough for some parents.
“I understand lockdowns and stuff like that but this is a fire, it’s unpredictable. We don’t know where it’s going to go. We’ve had lightning. It could just hit right over there,” Engel said.
“In writing, we don’t have to be told – we have it, don’t worry about it. You got my kid, I’m going to worry,” Velasquez said.
“Our kids, our children. I don’t know about anyone else, but my child means more to me than anything in the world,” Engel said.
Three Rivers School District also said while air quality remains an issue, no students are allowed outdoor activities – including recess and athletics.
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