Update for TUSD Families - November 11

Dear TUSD Families, 

We want to share an update with you as we continue to address the impacts of the North Hangar fire on our district and community.  We continue to be grateful to our students, families, staff, community, and partners for your patience, understanding, and support in working through the impacts of the North Hangar fire.

Please know that the information and plan below is preliminary and could change based upon new information over the next 24 hours.  However, we want our families and staff to know the current situation and planning regarding TUSD schools.  In addition, we want you to know that this current plan has been developed in collaboration with the Orange County Health Care Agency (OCHCA), South Coast Air Quality Management District (South Coast AQMD), the City of Tustin and Envirocheck, our certified asbestos consulting firm.  This plan is fluid and all updates will be made in consultation with environmental experts and partners.

Before getting into the plan, the OCHCA urges the public to avoid touching any debris that may have come from the North Hangar fire.  Additional precautions from OCHCA can be found in their November 8 press release.

Monday Non-Student Day for All TUSD Campuses
Monday, November 13 is a non-student day for all Tustin Unified School District campuses and no students will be on campus.  

Reopening Plan
We have secured a certified asbestos consulting firm, Envirocheck, to conduct testing at all TUSD campuses.  Envirocheck is well-respected in the field of environmental inspection and analysis and we are grateful for their partnership.  Their expertise in testing and remediation of environmental concerns will guide our next steps for reopening our campuses.  Our top priority remains getting our students and staff safely back on campus.  

Campuses have been color categorized based upon their distance from the burn site and the presence of fire debris, which was identified initially by staff.  Please know that the certified asbestos consulting firm, Envirocheck, are the environmental experts and will conduct their own independent site inspections and evaluations of all TUSD campuses.  A detailed table and district map are included below.  

Campuses located farthest from the fire with no potential fire debris are categorized as GREEN. 

Campuses closer to the burn site, where at least one piece of potential fire debris was initially found on campus by staff are categorized as YELLOW.

Campuses in the immediate proximity of the burn site are categorized as RED.

Campus Testing by Certified Asbestos Consulting Firm
At each of our schools, a certified asbestos consulting firm, Envirocheck, will conduct on-campus testing in addition to on-site inspections to verify the presence of fire debris.  Out of an abundance of caution following Envirocheck’s clearance, a general cleaning on all hard surfaces will be conducted by our Maintenance and Operations team prior to campuses reopening for in-person instruction. 

Additional Updates
As schools are cleared for a return to in-person instruction by Envirocheck, parents will be notified through ParentSquare.  Please know that we continue to be in communication with city and county officials multiple times each day. All communications are also available on the Tustin Hangar Fire page on our website, which includes important links for our families and community.  The City of Tustin continues to share updates for the community as well, which can be found on the City of Tustin website.

We appreciate the continued patience and support of our parents and community as we work through this situation.  We are also grateful for our continued partnership with the City of Tustin, OCHCA and South Coast AQMD.

Sincerely,
Mark Johnson, Ed.D.
Superintendent