Highland High School moves to virtual schedule for time being after fire

POCATELLO — The next six weeks will be an adjustment for Highland High School students after a fire ripped through a large section of the building Friday morning and essentially closed the school for the immediate future.

The fire, which ignited at around 4 a.m., destroyed most of the school’s D building, which included the cafeteria, gymnasium, choir and band rooms. The fire and efforts to quell the blaze also caused some water and smoke damage to other parts of the school, and the building’s electrical and gas facilities are currently off.

As a result — students likely won’t be attending the school in person for an unknown period of time.

During a joint news conference Friday afternoon between the Pocatello Fire Department and Pocatello/Chubbuck School District 25, officials told the media what they planned to do next for students.

For the upcoming week, the school will be moving to a virtual schedule on Tuesday, with classes on Monday canceled. Students who planned on attending prom in the cafeteria on April 22 will instead attend it at Idaho State University’s Pond Student Union Building ballroom.

District officials have to continue to assess the damage to the building to determine if students can return before the year is finished. If they can’t, they will have to coordinate with offers from the community to see if they can organize a hybrid schedule with some face-to-face learning.

“I think it’s going to take some time. This will not be a sprint; it is definitely going to be a marathon. We are hopeful for the best outcome possible and try to return students to that building, but only when it’s safe,” School District Superintendent Douglas Howell said.

RELATED | Gym and cafeteria a complete loss after blaze at Highland High School

While the district hopes they’ll be able to return students to the building as soon as possible, they acknowledge that it could take some time before they’re able to. The school holds some 1,500 students, making it one of the largest schools in the state.

If students and teachers cannot return to the building soon, High School Principal Brad Wallace expressed his desire to implement a hybrid schedule, using whatever classroom space they can access.

“The goal is to have some face-to-face time, whether that’s in a hybrid situation (or not),” Wallace said. “But all that remains to be determined on how things move forward.”

GALLERY: Highland High School fire on April 21

The superintendent said they will spend the next week looking for ways to create face-to-face opportunities.

Wallace said in his conversations with staff their priority has been to their students. They want to make sure that students’ needs are best met in this situation.

“I know that teachers are reaching out to students already to check on them and make sure they’re okay,” Wallace said.

District spokeswoman Courtney Fisher said they want to avoid rumors spreading as much as they possibly can, so they urge people to follow their Facebook page as well as sd25.us/urgent for official updates. She said the district intends to communicate with staff, students, parents and the community frequently with new updates on the situation.

“Our goal is to communicate well and to communicate often and wrap our arms around everybody involved and try to bring them along with us so that they feel like they are attuned to what’s going on and what those plans are moving forward,” Fisher said.

Officials also thanked the community for the outpouring of support they have revived in the wake of the fire.

“The outpouring of love and goodwill and support from this community is always tremendous, specifically in this instance,” Fisher said. “We feel it locally, from elected officials to Idaho State University reaching out to host prom tomorrow for Highland High School students to statewide elected officials.”

School, district working to replace band equipment destroyed, rescue classroom pets trapped by fire

The news conference also allowed school officials to address the personal impacts of the fire. Howell became emotional when he was asked about the memorabilia previously found lining the halls of Pocatello’s Highland High School.

The D building hallway was where the school kept its trophy case and Hall of Fame pictures of past Highland students.

“The hallway may have some of those Hall of Fame pictures still intact,” Howell said while battling back emotions. “There are a lot of memories through that hallway. I hope that we can salvage a few — I hope that someone has copies of those (and) that we can rebuild that, to some extent.”

Wallace said the building means a lot to students and alumni.

“It seems silly a building could have such an emotional impact. We are thankful that no one was hurt but we’re all hurt,” Wallace said. “Alumni have been reaching out and it hurts when a building that you have been in and have memories and experiences that are tied to that building is destroyed. It’s hard.”

Officials from the district and fire department said the cause of the fire hasn’t been determined, and they are still assessing all the damage. They are also working to remove important items from the school.

Howell said he was made aware of some classroom pets that are kept in the classrooms — which did not receive fire damage. The district, school and emergency responders, he said, are working to remove those animals from the building.

Along with the lost and damaged memorabilia is the destruction of the band room, which housed instruments and equipment belonging to both the school and its students.

As Howell explained, the Highland band had returned from an event Thursday afternoon, meaning much of the instruments and equipment was stored in the room.

He and Fisher said the district has been in contact with the insurance carrier, working to replace the lost and destroyed items.

“We are working with our band director at Highland High School to try to put together some sort of an inventory of those personal items,” Howell said.

There have been messages from residents offering to donate toward replacing the instruments. Fisher warned those who want to help against starting crowdfunding organizations and apps.

“There are official avenues for people to donate,” Fisher said.

“We have not identified any need that would require any extra donations or fundraising,” she added.

If there does come a time that donations are needed, Fisher said those can be made directly through the school or with the district.

Pocatello Mayor Brian Blad also spoke at the conference, choosing first to acknowledge the response of Pocatello and Chubbuck residents, who were quick to offer assistance.

“I would like to thank the community, because we have an absolutely incredible community here,” he said.

VIEW | A photo gallery of the damage to the Highland High School campus

Some local businesses have also offered their assistance.

Glean Coffee Roaster — located at 240 South Main Street — will be donating $2 from every bag of coffee and 50 cents from every drink sold through Sunday to Highland. They are open 8 a.m to 5 p.m. Saturday and 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday.

The Sodamix in Pocatello — located at 4185 Pole Line Road — will donate all proceeds from sales Friday and Saturday to Highland High School.

Co-owner Chanse Carter told EastIdahoNews.com the hope is to help the school with whatever it is it may need — “Classroom supplies, sports equipment, lunches, help for prom. Just whatever they might need it for,” he said.

The Soadmix is open until 10 p.m. Friday and 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday.

“The amount of support from our community has just –” Howell said before pausing to battle an emotional outburst, “been tremendous.”