SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. — Lake Tahoe Unified School District students will return to school this week after the Caldor Fire forced the opening dates to be pushed back.

The first day of school is scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 16.

“It is with deep gratitude for the Caldor Fire firefighters, Incident Command and all collaborating agencies, that we notify you that schools will open on Thursday,” Dr. Todd Cutler, LTUSD superintendent said in a press release. “As you may know, the final areas of the LTUSD boundary in South Upper Truckee, North Upper Truckee, and Christmas Valley, have now been designated as “Warning” evacuation zones and those residents began repopulation today. This gives families three days to travel, unpack, and prepare for the start to the school year on Thursday.”

The school worked with Incident Command and local partners to determine when it would be safe to prepare for school. They will continue to monitor the situation and make changes if necessary.

Additional safety measures have been put in place. The district’s custodial, maintenance, grounds, and transportation staff are working diligently to clean every site and replace HVAC, bus and air purifier filters. ABM Building & Energy Solutions is assisting the district with assessing and cleaning all components of the air filtration systems. In addition, ABM has partnered with NES, Inc., a recognized leader in environmental, health & safety training and consulting, who will be certifying the indoor air quality and environmental compliance at all school sites.

Cutler will be hosting a virtual question and answer at 5:30 p.m. Sept. 13.

For participants wishing to ask questions or make comments, this meeting will be streamed here via Zoom for all participants and for those wishing to observe it will be viewable live on the District’s YouTube channel “LTUSD Meetings.”