The start to the 2021-22 school year will have to wait.

Due to the Caldor Fire causing mandatory evacuations for some staff and students, the Tahoe Truckee Unified School District has announced that the start of the school year will be delayed by one week.

“We have over 100 students and numerous teachers and staff members affected by mandatory evacuation,” said Superintendent Chief Learning Officer Carmen Ghysels in a letter from the district. “We do not feel it is safe to put any TTUSD buses on the west shore. Also, according to the (California Highway Patrol), they are anticipating significant traffic concerns in Truckee as families evacuate.”

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The school year was scheduled to begin last Tuesday, and will now occur Tuesday, Sept. 7.

Athletics for the lakeside schools are canceled at this time. They are also canceled for both middle schools — Alder Creek Middle School and North Tahoe School.

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Additionally, the state of California prohibits distance learning based on the natural disaster, said the district, which is exploring other options for instruction since it will be some time until the Caldor Fire is contained.

As of Thursday morning, the Caldor Fire has been active for over two weeks, burned more than 210,000 acres, and is 25% contained.

Once school is in session, smoke from fires may still affect school operations, causing closures if the air quality index is 400 or more, said Coordinator of District Communications Kelli Twomey.

For more information, visit http://www.ttusd.org.

Justin Scacco is a reporter for the Sierra Sun. Contact him at jscacco@sierrasun.com or 530-550-2643