“Hey, my car’s still packed,” quipped Trustee Ketta Brown.
“I commend you and your staff for the action that you took,” Clerk El Hathaway told Fraisse.
All district campuses reopened Wednesday, following two days of closures, but the district remained on high alert.
“This is a very, very challenging time for California,” Fraisse said. “We are so much more fortunate than other communities that we see in the news.”
But he was realistic about the fire season’s potential.
“We have a long way to go in our fire system before we can breathe a sigh of relief,” Fraisse said.
A report given to the district by a fire consultant contained some “sobering facts,” Fraisse said.
Since the report was submitted, the district has cut down many trees and shrubs around vulnerable campuses to create more defensible space, Fraisse said. New findings conclude that the sites are now safe should the students be required to “shelter in place” in an emergency.
“We have received an amazing level of support from our fire partners,” Fraisse said.
David Horne of the Greater Laguna Coast Fire Safe Council described a plan at the meeting to install a solar-powered camera at Top of the World that would monitor the wilderness in case of fire danger.
He also presented to the district one of the red and yellow flags that are hung throughout town on red-flag days.
Top of the World Elementary School, El Morro Elementary School and Thurston Middle School were closed Monday, following the Santiago fire’s advent the previous evening.
Anneliese’s Schools followed the same closure protocols as the district, said Elise Higley, administrative grade school director at Anneliese’s.
St. Catherine Catholic School remained open this week.
