Unhealthy air caused Logan to close school on Friday, November 16th exciting some students while worrying others.
“Finally they announced they were canceling school. The air has been so bad and I’ve been getting headaches since the fire started,” said senior Cassady Cardana.
The fire began on Thursday, November 8th in Butte County and has spread rapidly due to winds since then.
The AQI is an index for reporting daily air quality. It tells you how clean or polluted your air is, and what associated health effects might be a concern, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. There are five pollutants measured. The one causing the most worry in the Bay Area is the “particle” pollution from California’s fires.
A healthy air quality level is between 0-50 according to airnow.gov, but the predicted AQI for Friday was in the “unhealthy” or “very unhealthy” range throughout Alameda County and the Bay Area. Airnow.gov also advises, “those with heart or lung disease, older adults, and children should avoid prolonged or heavy exertion.”
The possibility of school closure first began when Mr. Brar sent an email to both students and staff recognizing how horrible the air quality has been and letting us know that superintendents across Alameda county would be having a conference call to decide whether or not to cancel school on Friday.
At about 3:18 pm, an email was again sent by Mr. Brar confirming that school would be canceled.
Some students were happy to get out of taking their last tests before Thanksgiving break, but others were more nervous about the work they’d have waiting when they get back from break.
Roxanne Ramos said she was “…glad about having an extra day to rest but I’m worried about the test I’ll have to take when we get back.”
Freshman Marissa Delgadillo also was excited to get another day of the break but wasn’t sure how the unplanned day off might affect her.
“I didn’t know if I was going to have to make up my tests after break. I might forget everything we learned, which means I’ll have to study more,” Delgadillo said
“I think they should have canceled it sooner because it was way worse towards the beginning of the year,” said Senior Lily Salcedo.
Overall, many students had mixed emotions about school being closed some feeling happy, but still worried about what work might be waiting for them when they come back from break.
