UPPER LAKE, Calif. – At a special Tuesday morning meeting, the Upper Lake Unified School District Board of Trustees decided to set the start of the new school year back by one week in response to the Mendocino Complex.

The complex, now the state’s largest wildland fire incident, began on July 27. It has led to evacuations of tens of thousands of Lake County residents in areas including Upper Lake and the rest of the Northshore.

Cal Fire has pushed back the date the complex is expected to be fully contained from Aug. 15 to Sept. 1.

With part of the district still under evacuation – including the schools themselves – on Tuesday the board and staff held the special meeting at the Lake County Office of Education headquarters in Lakeport.

Superintendent Dr. Giovanni Annous told Lake County News that the board decided to delay the start of school by one week, putting the target start date at Aug. 22 so evacuees can focus on their families and returning home.

Annous said the board is scheduled to meet again next Tuesday to reevaluate that target start date if necessary.

The good news is that no school facilities were damaged by the fire, Annous said. “We have no damage whatsoever.”

However, Annous said the district is using a specialized disaster cleanup company to thoroughly clean district buildings due to concerns about smoke, just as the Lakeport Unified School District is doing.

Annous said the district is trying to put its main focus on the wellness of staff and students.

“This is a very challenging time,” he said, noting that, so far, they’ve found out that two employees lost homes in the fire.

However, he said they will keep pushing ahead, with the district planning to come together to support its community through the recovery process.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.