More than four years after Caldor Fire, Grizzly Flats still fighting to rebuild elementary school
More than four and a half years after the Caldor Fire tore through Grizzly Flats, the community is still waiting for the return of Walt Tyler Elementary School.
The small, two-room schoolhouse once served about three dozen students and acted as a hub for the tight-knit mountain community. When the Caldor Fire sparked in August 2021, it reduced the campus to ashes. Today, an empty plot of land is all that remains.
"It's been a long journey that we never thought would be this long," said Patrick Paturel, superintendent of the Pioneer Union School District.
Despite the devastation, district leaders say the community has remained determined to rebuild.
"This is a very resilient community," Paturel said. "There's a pride of ownership that people who live here in Grizzly Flats have — a sort of conquer-type mentality."
The district plans to begin construction in early April, but funding remains a major obstacle. Even with insurance payouts and a FEMA-approved grant of $300,000, the district says it is still about $2.5 million short of the roughly $9 million needed to rebuild the school as it once was.
Chief Business Officer Kelly Howard says time is running out.
"If we don't start construction this year, we will lose almost two million of the funds that we have available," Howard said. "And that might be a totally stopping point for the school district."
Until the school is rebuilt, students remain displaced. They are bused to Pioneer School in Somerset, a commute that can take up to two hours each way for some children.
As other California communities recover from recent wildfires, district leaders say they hope Grizzly Flats won't be forgotten.
"While frustrating as it is to see that LA Unified and the Eaton Fire area are getting the relief, I'm glad that this is happening for them," Paturel said. "And we just want to see the same thing happen for us."
Paturel says the district is asking for state support to help navigate the complex rebuilding process.
"Our message is, just because time has gone by, we're still here," he said. "We need your help and support. We're a small district. Navigating this is not something we fully understand or are trained for."
Despite the challenges, many in Grizzly Flats remain hopeful that Walt Tyler Elementary School will one day return and with it, a vital piece of their community.