Laguna Beach officials outline school evacuation plans as statewide fires surge

Fire and city safety officials told the Laguna Beach Unified School District Board of Education that the district and city have layered plans to move students and residents quickly in the event of wildfire-driven evacuations.

At a board meeting, Fire Chief Nico King said local agencies have watched “unprecedented” wildfire and wind conditions over the previous 72 hours and are moving emergency resources under California’s master mutual aid system. “We start to hear days in advance that we're gonna have high winds,” King said, describing how fire, police and dispatch staffing increases and public alerts follow red-flag forecasts.

The meeting’s nut graf: the safety of students and staff depends on coordinated staging and clear public alerts. City and district officials said those systems — including pre-staged buses, zoned evacuations and multiple notification platforms — are designed to prioritize life and keep roadways clear so emergency vehicles can operate.

King described the lead role of the fire department in unified command during an incident and emphasized the need to follow evacuation orders. “When you're told we're gonna evacuate, evacuate. Leave,” he said. Police Captain Mike Peters said traffic control is the department’s primary role during a large evacuation and urged residents to sign up for local alert systems such as AlertOC and Nixle. “Our job as a police department is traffic,” Peters said. He described three principal corridors into and out of the city and said Laguna Beach is divided into roughly 20 response zones that determine staging and exit routes.

Officials detailed how the district and city coordinate reunification and transportation: district buses are staged for elementary evacuations and reunification drills commonly move elementary students to the high school for reunification and bus pickup. Peters asked parents not to drive to schools during an evacuation — a practice that can clog roads and slow emergency response — and to proceed to the reunification location specified in official alerts.

Officials also discussed how regional wireless emergency alerts can appear to target large areas (Peters noted some alerts appearing for Los Angeles County) and said that can generate calls to the district and city. King and Peters said mutual aid and county notifications supplement local messaging.

Board and district leaders urged parents to prepare “go-bags,” sign up for multiple alert services, and watch official district and city webpages for evacuation maps and pickup instructions. Mr. Jeffrey Dixon, the district’s acting superintendent, said the police and fire chiefs participate on the districtwide safety committee and help develop staging and air-quality protocols. “They actually help us with evolving and developing our plans,” Dixon said.

The meeting ended with officials reiterating where families can find information. City and district websites list evacuation zones, traffic plans and instructions for reunification; school-specific drill and bus-staging plans are part of the district’s emergency-preparedness practices.