LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles Unified has expanded efforts to clean and prepare campuses to welcome students back to school on August 12, with an intense focus on 54 schools located within three miles of the Lineage warehouse in Boyle Heights, which burned for eight days in mid-June.
Since the fire, all campuses in nearby communities have received deep, thorough cleaning; filters in all air conditioning systems have been replaced; and air purifiers have been installed in every classroom.
“We are committed to the health and well-being of every Los Angeles Unified student every day of the year,” Superintendent Andrés E. Chait said. “When extraordinary events, like the fire in Boyle Heights, affect our communities, we take every necessary step to ensure our schoolhouses are ready to welcome students back to environments that support learning, belonging, and success. It is a priority for me to continue to engage the community around our efforts, and that outreach will ramp up even more as we get closer to the first day of school.”
“We know the Lineage Fire caused fear, uncertainty, and disruption for many of our families and school communities,” Board Vice President Dr. Rocío Rivas said, whose board district has been impacted. “As we welcome students back on August 12, we have worked diligently to prepare our campuses through deep cleaning, replacing HVAC filters, and installing air purifiers in every classroom. Our students deserve safe, healthy schools where they can learn, grow, and thrive.”
Board Member Karla Griego, who also has affected schools in her district, also reassured the community.
“At this time, the schools are ready to welcome students back to school on August 12th,” Griego said. “We will continue to monitor air quality, among other health indicators, at the schools that have been impacted. Additional resources in the form of staff and equipment have also been deployed to ensure that schools are clean and safe for when students return. Every classroom, office, and indoor communal areas at the schools have air purifiers and filters have been checked and changed when necessary.”
The District’s Office of Environmental Health and Safety has played a leading role in inspecting and testing all campuses to ensure they are free of toxins that could be harmful to students and staff. Working in partnership with city and county agencies, the office has provided assurance that campuses are safe for students and teachers to begin the instructional year as planned.
“Our teams continue to test and monitor air and surfaces at every campus in the area as part of our ongoing environmental monitoring,” Carlos Torres, Director of Environmental Health and Safety for Los Angeles Unified, said. “The testing is intended to confirm that our campuses remain safe. To date, we have found no evidence of hazardous conditions that would pose a risk to students or staff. Even so, we will continue to verify conditions every day because there is no substitute for being thorough when it comes to the health and safety of our school communities.”
While summer programs at several schools near the Lineage warehouse were temporarily relocated during and immediately after the fire, District officials anticipate that relocations will not be necessary at the start of the school year. Even so, school operations administrators have been working around the clock to develop comprehensive contingency plans that will be implemented should conditions change.
Administrative staff are already on campuses supporting families with questions and concerns about the incident. In addition, teams from the District’s Region East office – led by pupil services and attendance counselors – have been canvassing neighborhoods, going door-to-door, speaking with families affirming campuses are ready for the school year. In the process, they are answering questions, listening to concerns, and helping to connect them to resources that meet their needs.
“We are assuring families that our schools are the safest places for their children to be,” Region East Superintendent Lourdes Ramirez-Ortiz said. “I am proud of the way our teams have come together – nurses, counselors, maintenance crews, mental health workers, and countless others – to ensure our schools continue to be strong hubs for our communities.”
Region East is conducting a series of informational webinars for families in affected areas, where they can receive the latest information and hear first-hand from the experts guiding the work to make campuses clean, safe, and welcoming. Additional webinars are taking place Wednesday, August 5 and Monday, August 10. Families at the affected sites continue to receive updates via phone, email, and text messages.
The District has worked in partnership with City and County of Los Angeles agencies to link community residents with assistance and resources in the aftermath of the fire. The Los Angeles Education Foundation, the philanthropic partner of the District, has provided $100,000 in direct cash assistance to 350 Los Angeles Unified families impacted by the warehouse fire, along with seven pallets of air purifiers to help address immediate health and safety needs. The Foundation also partnered with Chevron Corporation to donate 13,000 N95 masks.
Families with questions or requests for support can call the Los Angeles Unified Family Hotline at (213) 443-1300. Additional information and resources are available at the following websites:
- Los Angeles Unified Region East: east.lausd.org (or directly to the Region East Lineage Fire update webpage)
- City of Los Angeles: emergency.lacity.gov/BoyleHeightsRecovery
- County of Los Angeles: recovery.lacounty.gov/disasters/palos-fire/
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