IUSD schools and Crean Lutheran closed as crews continue to battle Silverado Fire

Personnel with Cal Fire in Riverside put out a flare-up Monday near the tennis courts at Northwood High School. (Photo and information courtesy Ernie Medina, Northwood High)

All schools in the Irvine and Tustin school districts were closed Tuesday as firefighters continued to fight the Silverado Fire, which started Monday and grew to about 11,200 acres, according to the Orange County Fire Authority.

All Irvine schools will remain closed and there will be no instruction on Wednesday, Oct. 28, according to the IUSD website. For information on Tustin Unified Schools, please go to the district’s website (tustin.k12.ca.us).

Crean Lutheran High School in Irvine, which was evacuated Monday, was also closed for classes on Tuesday and will be closed the rest of the week. In a message to the Crean Lutheran community, Principal Daniel Moyer said that after full inspection, the fire did not cause major damage to the campus.

“Earlier today, members of Crean Lutheran’s leadership team gathered on campus to assess damage to the main campus as well as the Athletic Campus,” Moyer said in his Email. “No major structures were damaged. Praise be to God! While a shed at the Athletic Complex was destroyed and there was damage to fences, netting, ground sprinkler systems, vegetation, and some small areas and items, we are thankful that both sites were spared. All things considered, we are incredibly blessed!”

Moyer said that all all on-site athletic team practices are suspended until Monday, Nov. 2 and the Strength and Conditioning Center will remain closed until that day. In person schooling will also resume on that day, he said.

Moyer added that some families who have children attending Crean Lutheran and who had to evacuate, were staying in local hotels.

Also on Tuesday, a number of Orange County high school athletic programs, including those at Westminster, Ocean View and Huntington Beach, cancelled outdoor practices because of poor air quality, according to reports on Twitter. High school athletic practices in Irvine and Tustin were also cancelled.

Irvine Mayor Christina Shea said on the city’s website Tuesday it was estimated that at least 90,000 Irvine residences had been evacuated. Fire authories said the fire was 5 percent contained and that more than 750 firefighters were battling it.

In its latest City of Irvine update Tuesday afternoon, city officials said that evacuations had been lifted for “everything south of Portola Parkway and west of the 133 Toll Road,” but that other evacuation orders were remaining in place and advised residents to check the city’s website (cityofirvine.org) for updated information.

An evacuation center was set up at Woodbridge High School and other locations.

Meanwhile, some clean-up was beginning at Northwood High, which was evacuated on Tuesday. Students were not in session because it was a planned hybrid learning day, however, there were some staff members who had to be evacuated.

Plant Supervisor Ernie Medina, who led the clean-up at Northwood, said Tuesday he did not see any structural damage at the school, but that some vegetation was burned. He said there was no visible damage to outdoor athletic facilities.

Personnel with Cal Fire from Riverside were able to put out a flare-up near the tennis courts Monday at Northwood, Medina said.

Portola High School in Irvine, which like Northwood, was on a hybrid day, was also evacuated. Portola High School football coach and athletic director Peter Abe, asked how his school was doing texted Tuesday, “all good.”

While high school and middle schools were on hybrid learning Monday, elementary schools were in session in Irvine and were evacuated. Tustin Unified School District had some schools evacuated and closed schools Tuesday.

A list of Irvine evacuation centers:

—-Woodbridge High School: 2 Meadowbrook 

—Las Lomas Community Center: 10 Federation Way 

—University Community Center: 1 Beech Tree Lane 

—Quail Hill Community Center: 39 Shady Canyon Dr

—Rancho Senior Center: 3 Ethel Coplen Way 

-Tim Burt, OC Sports Zone; timburt@ocsportszone.com

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