Simi Valley School District cancels school Tuesday as Sandy Fire doubles in size

The Simi Valley Unified School District announced that all campuses will be closed Tuesday as the Sandy Fire burning in the Simi Hills has nearly doubled in size as of Monday evening.

The statement comes after multiple schools located in the foothills just north of the Sandy Fire were evacuated due to the wildfire Monday.

Simi Valley Unified initially released a statement saying all students were safe, but being kept indoors due to poor air quality caused by the fire. Sky5’s Rich Pricket reported that there was a long line of parents waiting to pick up their children at Hillside Middle School at 12:45 p.m. 

At around 2 p.m. Monday, all students still present at Crestview Elementary School and Mountain View Elementary School were evacuated by bus to Simi Valley High School at 5400 Cochran Street.

“Many students had already been picked up by their families before the remaining were bused to Simi Valley High School,” a statement on the Simi Valley Unified School District website reads. “All families were notified.”

All seventh-period classes and afterschool events were also canceled at Hillside Middle School and Royal High School. These schools were not evacuated.

The school district took part in a meeting Monday afternoon, which included officials from the Simi Valley Police Department, Rancho Simi Recreation and Parks District, the County of Ventura, and the Ventura County Fire Department. At the meeting, officials decided to cancel all classes tomorrow “out of an abundance of caution,” Simi Valley Unified School District Superintendent Hani Youssef said.

“With the knowledge that so many of our families are directly impacted by the Sandy Fire, ALL Simi Valley Unified School District schools and campuses will be closed tomorrow, Tuesday, May 19, for most staff and all students,” Youssef’s statement reads. “Only key leadership staff will be contacted to report to work for varied assignments. We hope that by providing this early information, our families will be able to make appropriate arrangements for childcare tomorrow.”

The closures include all on-campus afterschool programs. The school district will make a decision tomorrow whether or not classes will resume Wednesday.

As of 7:30 p.m. Monday, the Sandy Fire is 1,364 acres in size. The fire remains uncontained. More than 28,000 Simi Valley residents are under evacuation order due to the fire.