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Around 10 p.m. on Sunday, October 21, while most residents of the Scripps Ranch neighborhood were keeping an eye on the brush fires to the east, one was keeping particular watch.
Jeff Olivero, principal of Mira Mesa High, knew what might happen. He and his staff had been through it before… in 2003.
So when the call came that the Red Cross had asked to use his school as an evacuation shelter, he went to work.
“You come to learn that you’re on call for your site 24 hours a day. In this case, on the one hand, you have the responsibility as a principal. On the other hand, you’re glad you can serve a role in supporting and building connections with the community and help out others in need.”
Unlike 2003, when flames destroyed hundreds of homes in San Diego Unified’s Scripps Ranch neighborhood, homes of our students were spared in 2007. But when the Witch Creek Fire spread into Rancho Bernardo, Ramona and Poway, their residents found a safe haven at Mira Mesa High, as did evacuees from Scripps Ranch.
In addition, 500 residents and staff of the Mount Miguel Covenant Village in Spring Valley took refuge at San Diego High School, while Serra High School was used as a Red Cross Volunteer Center. Taft and Bell middle schools were at one time considered for shelters while several huge fires burned throughout the county.
The Mira Mesa shelter replaced one at Poway High School, deemed too close to the flames as the fire moved west and south. Olivero said he was surprised at how fast evacuees arrived. Within a few hours, there were more than 1,000 residents on his campus, along with a wide assortment of animals including dogs, cats and even goats. The gym was full of cots, tents lined the quad and a senior-citizen home was set up in three bungalows. Others slept in their cars in the overflowing parking lots.
Not to mention Jeff, his wife and son, residents of Scripps Ranch who were also evacuated. They spent three nights in his office.
“My son slept on a cot, my wife slept on my office floor and I slept on the conference table,” he said. Several students were evacuated to the school as well.
Support from his staff, the rest of the district and his Mira Mesa High School students helped Olivero through the crisis. Unaware that school had been cancelled, some staff members showed up for work on Monday. Teachers and others arrived about the same time as the evacuees from the Poway High School. Mira Mesa’s administrative team pitched in to “direct traffic,” Olivero said.
Hundreds of students arrived later in the day, pitching in to register evacuees, walk pets and provide any support needed. Plant Operations Supervisor Bob Lowry organized custodial staff to provide 24-hour service, with at least two on campus at all times. Later in the week, custodial staff made sure the school was ready to open with the rest of the district.
Superintendent Carl Cohn lauded the work of employees on school sites and throughout the community.
“I want to thank everyone for going above and beyond the call of duty this last week,” Superintendent Carl Cohn told the Board of Education at its October 29 meeting. Work by staff was “an extraordinary coming together in support of our students, our families and our community.”