WORLD NEWS | Early morning fire destroys wing of Idaho high school

POCATELO (USA) — A fire destroyed part of a large high school in the southern Idaho city of Pocatello early Friday morning, April 22 (AP).

No one was injured in the fire, but a wing of Highland High School was completely destroyed, said Pocatello Fire Department Deputy Chief Shane Grow. The wing, which houses the school’s cafeteria, gymnasium, choir and band room, suffered extensive structural damage, including a collapsed roof.

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Still, the Pocatello School District said in a memo to parents that fire doors between the other wings of the school appeared to be functioning properly, preventing the fire from spreading.

It was unclear how much smoke and water damage other parts of the school had received, but at least two other wings had “substantial water on the floor surface,” the district said.

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“We wish we could have saved the entire school, but we’re glad we stopped the fire from spreading to the other wings,” Grow said.

The fire was reported just before 4am and when firefighters arrived they found flames atop the building in heavy snow. Gero said an investigation into the cause of the fire would begin once the smoke cleared.

With approximately 1,500 students, the school is one of the largest in Idaho. District officials canceled classes through Tuesday and said they would switch to remote learning until classes could resume in person. Next week’s standardized testing has been postponed, and Idaho State University is now hosting its school dance scheduled for Saturday.

In a memo to parents, the district said officials are working with the district’s insurance company to replace any personal property destroyed in the fire and trying to develop a plan to handle school lunches for the remainder of the year.

Grow said he does not expect any part of the school to reopen until the end of the school year in June.

Idaho Gov. Brad Little said he is working with Idaho Superintendent of Public Instruction Debbie Critchfield and local officials to determine needs in the region . (Associated Press)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from a Syndicated News feed, the content body may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)