Some Schools in L.A. and Ventura Counties to Remain Closed Through Thanksgiving Amid Wildfires

Firefighters work to put out hot spots in and around structures destroyed by the Woolsey fire as a plume of smoke rises from near the Chatsworth Reservoir in West Hills on Sunday. (Credit: Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)

by: Marissa Wenzke

Posted: Nov 12, 2018 / 06:48 PM PST

Updated: Nov 12, 2018 / 06:48 PM PST

This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated. Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated.

Some schools in Los Angeles and Ventura counties will remain closed through the Thanksgiving holiday next week, school administrators have announced.

Several more schools cancelled classes this past Friday, Nov. 9 as the Woolsey and Hill fires both erupted in eastern Ventura County before rapidly spreading and triggering evacuations in the Los Angeles area over the weekend. Many of those campuses were expected to reopen on Tuesday, Nov. 13 following the Veteran’s Day holiday.

Given poor air quality and remaining road closures and evacuations, all school within the Conejo Valley School District in eastern Ventura County and the Las Virgenes School District in L.A. County will stay closed through the Thanksgiving holiday on Nov. 22.

The Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District will remain closed this week through Friday, Nov. 16.

For the Los Angeles Unified School District, all campuses will reopen on Tuesday with the exception of Topanga Elementary Charter School, which is still inaccessible due to road closures. Officials did not say when the school is expected to start classes again.

In Ventura County’s Pleasant Valley School District, all schools will reopen on Tuesday except Santa Rosa Technology Magnet School in Thousand Oaks due to its location near the wildfires.

Other schools in the affected areas mostly cancelled classes on Nov. 9 with expectations to resume after Veteran’s Day.