An Open Letter from CUSD Superintendent

by The Editors on May 19, 2014

LovelyThose who have children, siblings, or are themselves students in the Carlsbad Unified School District know that when the Poinsettia Fire broke out on the morning of Wednesday, May 14, 2014, the school district immediately began communicating with the community at large. It was great to see how quickly and efficiently the district could make sure the kids were safe and communicate that information with anxious parents and family members.

Now, CUSD Superintendent Dr. Suzette Lovely (right) recounts the details of May 14, 2014 in an open letter to the community giving us all a better idea of exactly how decisions were made as the day progressed.

Here it is:

Wednesday, May 14th began as a normal, albeit hot, day in CUSD. Then at 10:43 a.m. everything changed!

As we now know, the fire broke out near Poinsettia Lane and Alicante Road just east of El Camino Real. As Poinsettia Principal, Margie Giordani, watched the flames grow south of her campus, she called the District Office. Principal Giordani reported that School Resource Officer, Malcom Warfield had just arrived on scene and they would be sheltering in place. We immediately activated our EOC (Emergency Operations Center).

Ms. O’Connell and I tried to reach Poinsettia School to assist the principal. As we drove south on El Camino Real it was mayhem. Cars were stopped in the middle of the street, people were standing in the median taking pictures, and fire trucks were screaming by. We watched in horror as a huge plume of black smoke followed by a wall of flames arched over El Camino Real just north of Cassia Rd. When we finally arrived at Poinsettia Lane we were turned back by police. At this point the fire had not yet jumped El Camino Real – but within seconds it would.

At approximately 10:50 a.m. Ms. Giordani and Officer Warfield informed the EOC that due to the fire’s proximity to the school (and lack of foreseeable containment) they should begin evacuating students. Simultaneous to this – and unbeknownst to anyone at the EOC – burning embers had blown across El Camino Real. Dry brush in the canyons east and north of Aviara Oaks Elementary and Middle School had caught fire. Homes and businesses in the surrounding area were directly in the fire’s widening path.

For the jump for the rest of the letter.Shortly before 11:00 a.m., the EOC received a call from Principals Harden and Coehlo from AOMS/AOES. The principals reported thick, black smoke on the hillside behind the campus. Initially, the school had been advised to shelter in place. However, the administrators and the School Resource Officer who was on scene thought it best to evacuate classrooms and move students to the front of their schools. They wisely decided NOT to pull the fire alarm, since students are trained to evacuate to the back fields during fire drills. The front of the school was a much safer evacuation point at that time.

Superintendents from our neighboring districts in Oceanside, Vista, San Marcos, and San Dieguito swept in to offer buses to assist in school evacuations. Initially, we planned to evacuate Poinsettia students to Kelly Elementary. But, based on the direction the fires were moving and the impassibility of El Camino Real north of Palomar Airport Road, we knew it would be impossible to get buses in or students out that way. After consulting with Principal Giordani and the SRO, a decision was made to take Poinsettia students east to Carrillo Elementary School in the San Marcos school district. The Carrillo staff quickly prepared to receive our Poinsettia students and teachers. They brought them into their MPR and fed everyone lunch.

With no way to get buses into Aviara at that point in time, the two principals and SRO determined they would move students on foot to a safer location. Initially, they were going to re-locate students to the Aviara Hyatt. But, quickly determined that a nearby senior center would be a better location – getting the students behind, rather than in front of the fire.

Aviara Oaks Elementary and Middle School have a combined student population of 2000. Thanks to our stalwart leaders and wonderful teachers and support staff – who practice evacuation and safety drills on a regular basis – a sense of calm prevailed amidst the surrounding chaos. Our teachers know their students have great radar for reading adult fears.

Aviara students and teachers walked east on Aviara Pkwy in an orderly fashion to the Sunrise Senior Center. In the confusion, the EOC was informed and subsequently reported that the evacuation site was the Brighton Gardens Senior Center.

As black smoke choked the air, shopping centers and business offices south of Palomar Airport Road heeded mandatory evacuation orders. However, we remained at our District Office located at 6225 El Camino to continue to operate the EOC and assist schools. By noon, all power had been lost at the District Office – including internet and phone service. We sent our webmaster home so she could continue to push out communication to our CUSD families via School Loop and School Messenger. We attempted to provide updates as often as humanly feasible.

At approximately 1:00 pm, we realized it was no longer safe to stay at the District Office. Fires had raced along Camino Via Robles and Yarro Rd. into the industrial park behind our building. Initially, we set out to Sage Creek High School to re-establish the District’s EOC. But El Camino Real north of Palomar Road was complete gridlock. So with a few phone calls, we moved CUSD’s EOC to the City of Carlsbad’s regional command center off Faraday. We were able to reach the city’s EOC through back roads.

It was a welcome relief being at the Command Center with city police, fire and emergency personnel. We had the most up-to-date information and could communicate directly with our families via the city’s Internet.

Fire behavior is unpredictable. In situations like this, plans change. By 1:45 p.m. the Sunrise Senior Center was forced to evacuate. As a result, the remaining 100+ Aviara Oaks students not yet reunited with their parents headed down El Camino Real to Fire Station 2. They watched movies, ate pizza and chatted with the visiting firefighters who were manning the station for Carlsbad Fire. Teachers and administrators stayed until the very last student was picked up. The Gardners and other fantastic Aviara Oaks families shuttled staff members back to the school to retrieve their cars. Thankfully, no buildings at Aviara caught fire due to the heroic air and ground support of our fire crews.

An early decision by me and Board President Ann Tanner to cancel school Thursday and Friday came as relief to many. Throughout the morning we encouraged any parents who were able to reach their children at school to pick them up.

Sadly, 13 students in Carlsbad Unified have lost their homes. While this is still too large a number, we know it could have been much worse. Also, many of our own employees were evacuated from their homes in Carlsbad and San Marcos. We are so grateful no one was injured.

I want to personally thank the dozens of people who showed tremendous leadership and courage that day, beginning with our principals at Poinsettia and Aviara Oaks. Courage means doing what’s right even when you’re afraid. And to all the other site and district administrators and staff, thank for your decisive actions.

As an EOC, we have already begun debriefing to learn from and refine our emergency preparedness procedures. Thank you to all the parents and members of the community who have taken time to send us words of support and appreciation.

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