Wednesday, May 14 began as a normal, albeit hot, day in Carlsbad Unified. Then at 10:34 a.m. everything changed.
As we now know, the fire broke out near Poinsettia Lane and Alicante Road, just east of El Camino Real. As Poinsettia Elementary Principal Margie Giordani saw flames south of her campus she called the district office and reported that School Resource Officer Malcom Warfield had just arrived and that they would be sheltering in place. We immediately activated our Emergency Operations Center (EOC).
When Deputy Superintendent Suzanne O'Connell and I tried to drive over to Poinsettia School to assist the principal, we were turned back by police. It was mayhem. Cars were stopped in the middle of the street, people were standing in the median taking pictures, and fire trucks were screaming by. We watched a huge plume of black smoke, followed by a wall of flames, arch over El Camino Real just north of Cassia Road.
At approximately 10:50 a.m., Ms. Giordani and Officer Warfield informed the EOC that, due to the fire's proximity to the school (and lack of foreseeable containment), they should begin evacuating students.
At the same time, burning embers had blown across El Camino Real. Dry brush in the canyons east and north of Aviara Oaks Elementary and Middle Schools had caught fire. Homes and businesses in the surrounding area were directly in the fire's widening path.
Shortly before 11 a.m., the EOC received a call from Principals Leslie Harden and Megan Arias from Aviara Oaks, reporting thick black smoke on the hillside behind the campus.
Superintendents from our neighboring districts offered buses to assist in school evacuations. Poinsettia students were taken east to Carrillo Elementary School in the San Marcos school district. Upon arrival the staff at Carrillo fed everyone lunch.
But there was no way to get buses into Aviara at that point, so the two principals and the SRO determined that they would move students on foot to a nearby senior center, getting the students behind, rather than in front of, the fire.
Aviara Oaks Elementary and Middle Schools have a combined population of 2,000 students. Thanks to our stalwart leaders and wonderful teachers and support staff, experienced with safety drills, a sense of calm prevailed amidst the surrounding chaos. Our teachers know their students have great radar for reading adult fears. All students and teachers walked east on Aviara Parkway in an orderly way to the Sunrise Senior Center.
As black smoke choked the air, shopping centers and business offices south of Palomar Airport Road heeded mandatory evacuation orders, but CUSD staff remained at our district office to continue to operate the EOC and assist schools. By noon, all power had been lost at the district office, including Internet and phone service. We sent our webmaster home so she could continue to push out phone, text and e-mail messages to our CUSD families via School Loop and School Messenger, Facebook and Twitter, as often as possible.
By 1 p.m. it was no longer safe to stay at the district office, so we moved the EOC to the City of Carlsbad's Command Center where we had the most up-to-date information and could communicate directly with our families via the city's Internet.
Fire is unpredictable, and plans constantly change. By 1:45 p.m., the Sunrise Senior Center was forced to evacuate. There were still more than 100 Aviara Oaks students waiting for their parents, so they headed down El Camino Real to Fire Station 2. There they watched movies and ate pizza with teachers and administrators until all students were picked up.
Thanks to the heroic work of our firefighters, no CUSD property caught fire. We are immensely grateful for their work. Sadly, 13 students in Carlsbad Unified lost their homes. While this is still too large a number, we know it could have been many more. We are so grateful that no one was injured.
I want to personally thank the administrators, teachers and staff who showed tremendous leadership. Courage means doing what's right even when you're afraid. Our teachers did a remarkable job, and our students were cooperative and responsible.
As an EOC, we have already begun debriefing to learn from and refine our emergency preparedness procedures. Thank you to all the parents and members of the community who have taken time to send us words of support and appreciation.
As we now know, the fire broke out near Poinsettia Lane and Alicante Road, just east of El Camino Real. As Poinsettia Elementary Principal Margie Giordani saw flames south of her campus she called the district office and reported that School Resource Officer Malcom Warfield had just arrived and that they would be sheltering in place. We immediately activated our Emergency Operations Center (EOC).
When Deputy Superintendent Suzanne O'Connell and I tried to drive over to Poinsettia School to assist the principal, we were turned back by police. It was mayhem. Cars were stopped in the middle of the street, people were standing in the median taking pictures, and fire trucks were screaming by. We watched a huge plume of black smoke, followed by a wall of flames, arch over El Camino Real just north of Cassia Road.
At approximately 10:50 a.m., Ms. Giordani and Officer Warfield informed the EOC that, due to the fire's proximity to the school (and lack of foreseeable containment), they should begin evacuating students.
At the same time, burning embers had blown across El Camino Real. Dry brush in the canyons east and north of Aviara Oaks Elementary and Middle Schools had caught fire. Homes and businesses in the surrounding area were directly in the fire's widening path.
Shortly before 11 a.m., the EOC received a call from Principals Leslie Harden and Megan Arias from Aviara Oaks, reporting thick black smoke on the hillside behind the campus.
Superintendents from our neighboring districts offered buses to assist in school evacuations. Poinsettia students were taken east to Carrillo Elementary School in the San Marcos school district. Upon arrival the staff at Carrillo fed everyone lunch.
But there was no way to get buses into Aviara at that point, so the two principals and the SRO determined that they would move students on foot to a nearby senior center, getting the students behind, rather than in front of, the fire.
Aviara Oaks Elementary and Middle Schools have a combined population of 2,000 students. Thanks to our stalwart leaders and wonderful teachers and support staff, experienced with safety drills, a sense of calm prevailed amidst the surrounding chaos. Our teachers know their students have great radar for reading adult fears. All students and teachers walked east on Aviara Parkway in an orderly way to the Sunrise Senior Center.
As black smoke choked the air, shopping centers and business offices south of Palomar Airport Road heeded mandatory evacuation orders, but CUSD staff remained at our district office to continue to operate the EOC and assist schools. By noon, all power had been lost at the district office, including Internet and phone service. We sent our webmaster home so she could continue to push out phone, text and e-mail messages to our CUSD families via School Loop and School Messenger, Facebook and Twitter, as often as possible.
By 1 p.m. it was no longer safe to stay at the district office, so we moved the EOC to the City of Carlsbad's Command Center where we had the most up-to-date information and could communicate directly with our families via the city's Internet.
Fire is unpredictable, and plans constantly change. By 1:45 p.m., the Sunrise Senior Center was forced to evacuate. There were still more than 100 Aviara Oaks students waiting for their parents, so they headed down El Camino Real to Fire Station 2. There they watched movies and ate pizza with teachers and administrators until all students were picked up.
Thanks to the heroic work of our firefighters, no CUSD property caught fire. We are immensely grateful for their work. Sadly, 13 students in Carlsbad Unified lost their homes. While this is still too large a number, we know it could have been many more. We are so grateful that no one was injured.
I want to personally thank the administrators, teachers and staff who showed tremendous leadership. Courage means doing what's right even when you're afraid. Our teachers did a remarkable job, and our students were cooperative and responsible.
As an EOC, we have already begun debriefing to learn from and refine our emergency preparedness procedures. Thank you to all the parents and members of the community who have taken time to send us words of support and appreciation.