Hundreds of students who went away to outdoor science camps in the mountains last week and got stuck there due to heavy snowfall are expected back home Monday, Feb. 27.
Students from schools in Orange County’s Irvine, Garden Grove, Fullerton and La Palma, as well as the San Gabriel Valley, were snowed in at several camps in the San Bernardino mountains and unable to return as planned Friday.
By Monday late afternoon, students and teachers from G.B. Miller Elementary in La Palma, Gilbert Elementary in Garden Grove, Rolling Hills Elementary in Fullerton and Rowland Elementary in Rowland Heights either had arrived or were almost home.
In Irvine Unified, 120 students from Turtle Rock Elementary arrived home late Monday afternoon. And another 492 Irvine students — from Cadence Park, Oak Creek and Stone Creek schools — were still making their way home from the Pali Institute Outdoor Education Center in Running Springs, with the California Highway Patrol escorting buses down the mountain, as of Monday evening.
RELATED: Orange County students ‘snowed in’ at science camps due to weather
Southern California’s historic snowstorm and record-breaking rainfall led to the closure of all routes leading up to Big Bear and other areas where students were participating in what’s a rite of passage in California: a multi-day outdoor science camp. San Bernardino County, where the Big Bear region is, declared a local emergency Monday evening due to the weather.
While some enjoyed the extra snow time, it also led to some anxiety and homesickness.
“It’s been a rollercoaster,” said Rolling Hills teacher Jody Dyer, who was at the High Trails Outdoor Science School in Big Bear. “Even for those who have a history of going to camps and spending time at friends’ homes. They have fun. They feel homesick. Then they have a full day of activities and have fun. But in the evening, they start to feel bad again.
“And that’s where we come in,” said Dyer, who along with…
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