Orange County taking a wait-and-see approach
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With only three weeks remaining in the regular season, Orange County school districts are reluctant to commit too early to postponing -- or worse, canceling -- football games that are scheduled for Thursday and Friday because of the Santiago Canyon wildfire.
Even at El Toro High, which the Red Cross is using as an evacuation site for families unable to return to their homes, school was going on as planned.
Those evacuated families are being housed in the school’s gymnasium. Although outdoor activities Tuesday had been curtailed, the school district said football would be played as scheduled until a decision was made otherwise.
El Toro plays its home games at Trabuco Hills, but this week it plays Friday at Huntington Beach,which would seem to be out of the area of concern. Trabuco Hills will play host to Woodbridge on Friday in a game that, for now, is on as scheduled.
The ultimate arbiter in this stratagem is the Air Quality Management District. School districts are reacting to the AQMD edicts and making their determinations day-by-day. Even late Tuesday afternoon, no determination had yet been made for outdoor athletic events scheduled for Wednesday.
The Irvine Unified School district did decide Monday to suspend indefinitely all outdoor activities, but spokesman Ian Hanigan said decisions are being made daily when to lift the ban. The approach to football this weekend was definitely wait-and-see.
‘It may come down to assessing the situation and making the call on Friday,’ he said. ‘They may be gladiators on Friday night, but we have to ensure they’re safe.’
Irvine High, which is scheduled to play host to Corona del Mar, isn’t playing until Saturday. Northwood was closed on Monday as a result of nearby wildfires. The school reopened on Tuesday, but like all schools in the Irvine district, activity was limited to that which could be completed indoors. Northwood plays host to Foothill on Friday at Irvine. At least for now.
- Martin Henderson
-- Image from redcrossclub.org