In the midday of Nov. 6, 2024, Buena students looked up to see a silky orange smoke quickly covering the sky. With Santa Ana winds reaching speeds of 23 miles per hour and gusts up to 40 miles per hour, a fire was something anybody could predict to happen. Sprouting in Camarillo, students and families are having to evacuate and are fearful of what dangers the winds may bring. 

In the morning, students walked to school while covering their eyes and having their hoods up, trying to protect themselves from the wind, which was already blowing fiercely. 

The fire started near Bradley Canon and has burned nearly 8,900 acres since then, burning bright enough for three zones to call for evacuation orders. As the orders came to be in effect, the numbers of Buena students throughout the day slowly dwindled, being called out of school, with parents fearing what was to come. 

As the day trudged on and the lights flickered in classrooms students wondered what would happen with sports practices, and whether it would go even as far as school being canceled. Power outages struck throughout Ventura county and in nearby local schools, leaving students nervous. Principal Dr. Audrey Asplund assured the teachers in an email that even if we lost power, “food services and classroom instruction will continue without power.”

Sports practices were canceled and in a message from Ryan Bolland students were informed that “all outside activities are canceled,” meaning most sports were forced to take a day off of practicing.

Earlier in the day, teachers were sent a district email from VUSD communications director Marieanne Quiroz that said not to worry, as the evacuation orders were not in Ventura, but as of recently, the first zone of Ventura (east of Petit Street to the city limit) have been evacuated, as well as zones in Camarillo. 

To stay updated on the progress of the fire and evacuation orders, refer to VC Emergeny.com