SMOULDERING peat fires threatening the health of students has forced the early closure of schools in Cobden.
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Cobden Primary School principal Peter Lee said a decision had been made to close the school for the remainder of the week due to the weather forecast.
“The EPA and the Department of Education and Training has decided to evacuate us, Cobden Tech and the Hampden Special School for the remainder of the week,” Mr Lee said.
“Over the next three days we are expected to have quite intense smoke in the area."
Mr Lee said plans were in place to hold classes at Camperdown College.
“We’re organising to have classes at Camperdown College, but we expect a reduced attendance,” he said.
Mr Lee said the forced evacuation was an extraordinary situation.
“I’ve been involved in education for 30 years and I’ve never had a week like this,” he said.
Mr Lee said the health of students was the top priority.
“The continuing smoke does pose a threat to students so we’ll take the advice and evacuate,” he said.
Mr Lee said he was amazed by the way the community had banded together following the recent fires.
“There has been a huge swell of community support,” he said.
Mr Lee said the closure of the school was a minor inconvenience compared to what some people had experienced in the past week.
“In the next week or so we’ve got some changed circumstances, but it’s something compared to what some people have been through,” he said.
