Thomas Fire cleanup proves costly for school districts

Ventura County Star (CA)

Jan. 22--In the wake of the Thomas Fire, districts faced an expensive price tag on the cleanup process -- costing some districts several million dollars to make the schools safe for students and staff to return to classes.

Students were out for weeks, in some cases, from the smoke, soot and ash that damaged the schools. Districts worked to clean the schools in that time off and the winter holiday to prepare for students return in early January.

But there isn't a specific, written-out level of clean the schools need to reach. It isn't specified anywhere what the dust or particle level should be in a classroom.

So it was up to hygienists to come into the schools and assess the air quality and suggest the type of cleaning the campuses needed -- both inside and out.

The cleaning varied from school to school, and district to district, based on where the fire was and the direction of the wind that rained ash on parts of Ventura County from the fire that began Dec. 4 near Santa Paula and burned through Ventura, the Ojai Valley and Fillmore before heading into Santa Barbara County. The Thomas Fire was fully contained on Jan. 12.

In Ventura Unified, Superintendent David Creswell said the initial cost estimate for outside contractors was almost $13 million. That number doesn't include heating and cooling costs, extra hours for staff, lost books, lost food, extra expenses or the industrial hygienist. Creswell said the district is working with the insurance company to recover the cost of damages.

"The schools are as clean or cleaner than before the fire," Creswell said in an email to The Star. "The scope of cleaning was determined by the industrial hygienist (who) was inspecting sites with district staff and the remediation company."

Creswell said the scope of cleaning was based on the level of contamination at each site, and the level of ash and soot varied widely across Ventura.

"Everything was wiped, HPEA vacuumed, etc. HVAC systems were serviced, new filters, cleaned etc. Air sampling was done at all sites to verify the sites were safe," Creswell said.

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The Ventura Unified schools were cleaned by Criterion Environmental and Service Master Recovery Management, which worked along with the district's maintenance department.

The cleaning process started on Dec. 6, just two days after the record-breaking fire began, with district staff and HVAC vendors. Cleaning started again Dec. 16 after the wind sent smoke back into Ventura.

Work is still ongoing at the Crooked Palm Bus Yard, any new site issues are being addressed as they come up, Creswell said.

"All sites were cleaned based on a scope determined by an industrial hygienist and the work was performed by a company that specializes in this type of work," Creswell said. "Sites were cleared via air tests before staff and students returned. Any additional concerns/complaints that were brought to our attention were immediately dealt with."

The air is no longer being monitored at the school sites in Ventura Unified, but the sites were checked after being cleaned and they found the air was clear and gave no indication of needing further monitoring.

In Ojai Unified the district went through 2 1/2 weeks of smoke restoration and remediation, Superintendent Andy Cantwell said in an email to The Star. The district hasn't received final invoices yet, but it's expected to be between $2 million and $3 million.

"All eight of our schools suffered significant smoke, soot and ash damage," Cantwell said. "We are thankful to be a member of the Ventura County Schools Self-Funding Authority, which administers our various insurance policies. Insurance is picking up the full cost of remediation."

The district hired a local environmental consulting firm to work with the insurance claims adjuster to develop a scope for the cleaning, Cantwell said, then contracted with All Seasons Restoration in Oxnard to clean the campuses. After everything was cleaned, air and surface samples were taken to check for ash, soot, char and other carbonaceous materials related to the fires.

"Every surface was wiped down and soot and ash removed," Cantwell said. "All air filters were replaced and HVAC air ducts were cleaned by a filtered air exchange system. All walkways and outdoor eating spaces were pressure washed. District staff cleaned all asphalt playground surfaces, sand pits, wood chipped areas and other trafficked outdoor areas."

Cleaning started in the district Dec. 14 and was finished Jan. 2, during that time period there were typically between 150 and 175 staff members at the sites cleaning.

"The feedback from our staff returning from the extended winter break was that their rooms were the cleanest they have been in years," Cantwell said.

At the Briggs School District in Santa Paula, the two school sites were fortunate enough to not see any ash in the schools or on the perimeter of the schools, Superintendent Deborah Cuevas said.

"After the fire took place we had risk management come in, we didn't have any structures that burned, no ash on the perimeter or in the buildings," Cuevas said. "It was just the direction of the fire, it was coming down the mountain then it went in a completely different direction."

Cuevas said the district put air scrubbers in each of the rooms and kept those scrubbers in for the time students and staff were out of school. Before students and staff returned, risk management came back to the schools and made sure everything was OK, Cuevas said.

The district did see damage in a different way. The phone lines have been down at Olivelands School since the fire, and Cuevas said they've been using cellphones and a temporary line to communicate with parents.

"We make sure safety is number one always," Cuevas said.

Santa Paula Unified found that some schools were in better condition following the fire than others. Bedell School and Barbara Webster School needed more extensive cleaning than the other schools in the district, said Jeff Argend, risk and safety manager for the district. The district brought in a hygienist and a professional cleaning company like Ojai Unified and Ventura Unified to clean up the schools.

"You want it as clean as you can possibly get it," Argend said. "When you're in any room in the school there is a smell test combined with the measured level of particles in the air. You want it to be good in both areas."

The district went so far as to purchase a hand-held machine that tests air quality. Argend said he's gone into classrooms that teachers or staff have said smell smoky and conducted tests and made sure everything looked good.

"Sometimes when teachers leave windows open or it's a high-traffic area like an office where the doors are constantly opening, the smoke and the smell can come back," Argend said. "We're happy to ease any concerns and make sure everything is safe and comfortable for teachers, staff and students."

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