Wildfires Ravage More Than The Environment

The recent surge of wildfires have impacted many schools in California by destroying buildings and affecting the health of students and teachers. Many buildings have been burned down such as houses, churches, businesses, and schools. These fires are causing chaos, between people losing their homes, jobs, and even family members. Many of the families impacted will have to move to different states or regions just to get away from the fires affecting their living conditions. Students are being traumatized from seeing parts of their lives fall to ashes.

According to the New York Times, “Students have been scarred and scattered.” In Berry Creek, California, the elementary school burned down. Although this tragedy happened, they are still able to have school online since most of the children had already received laptops for school. Patsy Oxford, the principle of Berry Creek Elementary stated, “The pandemic has actually helped.” The remote learning of school has strangely anchored both the student and the teachers and in a way created a “virtual community.”

At one point during these wildfires, schools in Northern California had to cancel classes for 260,000 students in 600 buildings. According to NPR, “In California the fires have created a unique set of challenges for schools. In addition to the disruption and trauma, there are the potential health risks of smoke and air quality and damage to school structures.” Around the affected areas many of the schools are scrambling to get everything together to begin school again. CBS Los Angeles reported that more than 50 campuses operated by the Los Angeles Unified School District, more than 30 charter school campuses in the district, and all schools in the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District have cancelled classes because of fires in the Sepulveda Pass, the Sylmar area, and Ventura.

Additionally, many students and teachers are being affected by the trauma of the fires. Many teachers in Northern California have been addressing the mental health of their students who watched parts of their communities burn to ashes, leaving some of them homeless with their families. As stated by Kate Stringer, a journalist for the website 74million, “Helping students cope with trauma is a long process, one that many schools have recently faced in the wake of hurricanes, floods, and fires. But having a plan in place to address trauma is critical, researchers said, as it affects everything from student behavior in class to academic performance to substance abuse.”

Overall, Wildfires are affecting many schools by destroying them while students are already moving online due to the current pandemic making these situations even more traumatic. Many students are watching their communities fall under the fires. The impact is also felt by the teachers whose houses are also being destroyed. Though many of the students were already having online school some were not. Some schools burned down forcing students and staff to evacuate. While all of this is happening, many communities have found sanctuary in online schooling which has actually helped those affected deal with their trauma and begin the process of rebuilding their lives and moving on.