wildfires

April 21, 2022

Empty classrooms and quiet hallways: California's rural far north grapples with declining enrollment

Enrollment has dropped more than 5% in rural Northern California over the past 20 years, with some districts seeing drops of 50% or more.

Carolyn Jones

October 6, 2021

Emergency response team helps California schools navigate wildfires

The California Department of Education formed its Emergency Services Team last October to help schools deal with emergencies like wildfires.

Diana Lambert

August 12, 2021

Wildfires delay beginning of school year for some rural California schools, some for the second year

Raging wildfires have become an annual threat to school districts in California's rural regions, and this year they are disrupting reopening plans.

Diana Lambert

October 2, 2020

Drilling down on Prop. 15; treating wildfires' trauma on children

This week: opposite views on Prop. 15, an initiative to raise commercial property taxes, and a look at wildfires' lingering trauma on kids.

EdSource staff

September 29, 2020

Even when the smoke clears, schools find student trauma can linger

Schools can serve as a hub for an entire community after a disaster, experts say.

Carolyn Jones

August 25, 2020

California wildfires add angst to distance learning

Massive wildfires have become an annual event in California, and they are the first test of how schools can handle a crisis while distance learning.

Diana Lambert And Theresa Harrington

November 1, 2019

As fires rage, pressure mounts to train California’s next generation of forest stewards

Similar to other STEM fields, employers in California’s natural resources industries are in need of a larger and more diverse pool of applicants.

Sydney Johnson

October 31, 2019

California parents and educators help students cope with fire trauma, again

Schools and colleges across the state have had to shut their doors this week due to smoke, power shutoffs or direct fire danger.

Ashley A. Smith and Sydney Johnson

January 15, 2019

Trauma in Paradise: A California school system focuses on mental health after devastating fire

As students and educators in and around the town of Paradise begin a new semester, just two months since the deadliest wildfire in California history, they are carrying with them levels of trauma that will certainly impact their ability to learn and teach, experts say.

David Washburn

December 20, 2018

Paradise High seniors lost almost everything in Camp Fire, but are determined to salvage their final year

Community organizations, businesses and individuals from throughout the state are raising funds to ensure the senior class has a prom, senior trip and other events.

Diana Lambert

December 12, 2018

New location found for California high school destroyed by wildfire

Paradise Unified School District officials have found a location in Chico that will, for the foreseeable future, serve as the district’s high school while campuses decimated by the Camp Fire are rebuilt.

David Washburn

December 3, 2018

Tears, hugs mark reunion of Paradise students and teachers

Nearly a month after the deadliest wildfire in California history, students throughout Butte County return to school.

Diana Lambert And David Washburn

November 28, 2018

Plans come into focus for California schools ravaged by wildfires

Officials have identified three elementary schools that will take Paradise Unified students displaced by the deadly Camp Fire and are close to securing a site for middle and high schoolers.

David Washburn And Diana Lambert

November 20, 2018

Paradise educators find resilience amid fire's destruction

School officials throughout Butte County are working furiously to find classrooms for children who lost their schools in the Camp Fire, while also worrying about the emotional impact of the losses on students and teachers.

David Washburn And Diana Lambert

November 17, 2018

This Week in California Education: Episode 82, November 17, 2018

This week, an interview with Mandy Corbin, assistant superintendent of the Sonoma County Office of Education, on a devastating wildfire's toll on families and schools. She helped coordinate the response to the state's last big wildfire a year ago.

EdSource staff