In Wake of Catastrophic Fire, Middletown Kids Go Back to School

The Valley Fire that raged through southern Lake County is now 97 percent contained. It has burned more than 76,000 acres and destroyed almost 2,000 structures, many residential, and killed four people. But as fire crews surround and extinguish the last of the flames, the people who live in those areas are returning home or to the charred streets where their homes once were and are trying to put things back together.

For children in the Middletown Unified School District, that means returning to school this week. Most of the county's schools reopened last Tuesday, but Middletown and Cobb were two of the areas hardest hit by the fire. On Monday morning, though, most students were back in class. Children were bused in to all but Cobb Elementary, which had to be set up in portable classrooms at the middle school instead.

At Middletown High School on Monday, only 25 of 480 students were absent. The school's principal, Bill Roderick, says the kids who made it seemed happy to be surrounded by friends and have some routine again.

"We had no tardies to first period. They were all in class," he says. "The only difference is, you know, at lunchtime it was a little quieter than normal. Lots of quiet conversations."

At least 100 students lost their homes. Many school staffers did, too, including Roderick. But he says the outpouring of support has been incredible. On his first day back he spent an hour and a half opening letters full of donations.

"We had over $15,000 come in, in different denominations, from people who just wanted to help because they saw an article in the paper," Roderick says.

Many of the students wore matching T-shirts emblazoned with the words "Middletown Strong" in the school's colors with the Middletown High Mustang underneath. Roderick says he knew that kids whose lives had been turned upside-down would need a boost like that: something to help them bond during the recovery. He called a screen printer they'd worked with in Rohnert Park.

The shop's owner, Mark Pippin, said he'd print the shirts for free, 1,250 in all, on the condition that all the students and school staff get one for free. Extra shirts will be sold by the schools, with proceeds going to purchase school supplies, backpacks and winter clothing for the kids who lost everything.

Pippin says he's working on embroidered backpacks and shirts for the middle school now, and plans to drive them to Middletown next week.

"When you see the kids' faces, it just kind of puts it all in perspective -- why we do what we do to help," he says.