First Day Of School In SLO county Sees High Attendance Despite Gifford Fire
Jarrod Zinn
NIPOMO, Calif. (KEYT) – We’re seeing fewer smoke plumes from the Gifford fire today, just in time for the first day of school for many counties, including San Luis Obispo.
Local school officials say firefighters’ hard work gave them a lot of confidence for the start of school.
The last two weeks of 2025’s summer vacation on the central coast was overshadowed—literally in many places—by the Gifford fire, and the smoke it released into the air.
Thursday marks the first day of school in San Luis Obispo county, and officials at Lucia Mar School District report high levels of attendance as firefighters continue working hard to get the Gifford fire under control.
“The sun is shining. Most of the smoke from the Gifford fire has dissipated,” says Paul Fawcett, Lucia Mar School District’s superintendent. “Our attendance is actually up right now. And we appreciate all of our first responders and their hard work to make that happen.”
Lucia Mar’s superintendent Paul Fawcett announced that even though they look forward to welcoming everyone back to school, for families should prioritize safety and simply call the school if they’ve been impacted by the Gifford fire.
School officials happily report the number of families that have had to take them up on that is very low.
“I really appreciate school administrators who have the empathy and the foresight to understand that children learn best when they feel safe, and that sometimes we do need to be flexible with families within limits and give them the opportunity to have stability,” says Assemblymember Dawn Addis (D) of Morro Bay.
Despite the challenges this large wildfire has presented to firefighters, their hard work has helped Central Coast schools make sure the year is off to a safe, strong start.
“Lucia Mar School District extends from Shell Beach all the way to Nipomo Elementary, which covers part of the Huasna valley and Huasna town site, which is in the warning zone and the evacuation zone,” says superintendent Fawcett.
The Red Cross has emergency facilities and evacuation shelters in place and either open or on standby should conditions change.
but they are similarly pleased to report lower numbers than they were prepared for.
And tonight at 6 there will be a virtual community meeting held by the Los Padres Incident Managment team.
You can watch it stream live on youtube and facebook.
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