Timber Fire evacuations, families put trust in district as kids return to school

This is Monterey Bay today from KAZU News. It is Monday, August 10th. I'm Dylan Music. Fire activity has come to Monterey County. Overnight, the county issued evacuation orders for two zones in the Big Sur area. The timber fire is burning southeast of posts and has reached about 800 acres, according to watch duty. Three other zones are currently under evacuation warnings, meaning people should prepare to leave. Details are at alert, mry.org slash alerts. Evacuation warnings near the smaller Bryson fire inland near the Monterey San Luis Obispo County border have been lifted. And Jack's Peak County Park may reopen today or tomorrow. It was closed yesterday for cleanup after firefighters put out a Saturday blaze. Class is back in session for Monterey County Kids. Despite immigration concerns in East Salinas, head counts are high. Kay is a use. Katie Brown has more. About 6,800 students attend 12 elementary schools in the Alasal Union School District in East Salinas. Last week, kids filled classrooms for their first day back. We're a safe haven for our families. That's district superintendent, Monica Anzo. She says 95% of students are Latino or Hispanic. Most come from families that work in agriculture. Either they work in the fields or they're working in the packing sheds. She says despite threats of federal immigration raids, enrollment remains high because of the trusted district has built with families. Each school has many resources for parents, and the staff is trained on how to handle potential immigration encounters on campus. I think that has helped with our families. Being in attendance. If they have any kind of fear, they know who to call. With Summer Harvest closing in, she says, Right now is the time that we have all our students. We want to make sure that they're in class so they can learn. Anzo anticipates some families will leave towards the end of October as seasonal fieldwork moves out of the area. Katie Brown, K-A-ZU News. That's all for Monterey Bay today. We'll be back tomorrow morning with more local news.