Our high school is destroyed

[azbackpackr]

Round Valley High school in my town is said to be destroyed by small plane crash, several explosions (of plane and also propane tanks nearby) and so that nice building we are so proud of, where all our kids have graduated from, will have to be razed, what is left of it. At least, that is the current rumor. It happened right after I left town on Friday to go backpacking.

This town took a lot of pride in building four schools and the Dome, much nicer than most big city high schools I have been in. The high school building was a pleasant place, lots of windows that actually opened, lots of grass and trees. I hope they can re-build a similar building.

It is also sad about the people in the plane who died, although the news has not yet released any info about them, there are rumors about them trying to clear the runway twice and not making it off the ground until the third time, partly due to high winds. I heard it was a family. Very sad.

Here is a youtube someone made: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJHZ4r4VfdE

[big_load]

Very sad. I've been following it on the news, which so far hasn't said a word about what might have gone wrong. The initial reports misspelled the town as "Eager".

[azbackpackr]

Apparently there are issues with the runways, not all the runways are in use right now or something, they are torn up, and I heard that the one they had to use had the wind in the wrong direction. And it was very, very windy and also it was hot. And we are at 7,000 feet. Any one of those things can cause a problem.

And also, they made a bad decision, after failing to take off twice and almost crashing at the end of the runway, they opted to try again instead of waiting out the weather. Very sad a pilot would make such a bad decision with his whole family on board.

I just drove by the high school a little while ago. They have the streets in back and front cordoned off, but not the sides. So you can get a good look at some of the damage. But it is a brick building, so you don't really see what is wrong inside. I talked to one of the police volunteers there. He said a lot of the inside of it is "toast," and it is saturated with aviation fuel. He said there is definitely talk they will have to tear down the whole thing. If not, it would be about half of it, at least.

Since I work for the district I expect I will hear more about it eventually. I am pretty sure no one knows what will have to happen with the building. Not sure if they will bring in portable classrooms for the kids, but I assume that is what they will have to do. There is plenty of room to put those in the Dome parking lots, anyway.

The whole thing is kind of hard to take in, as to what it will mean for the district.

[kevinweitzel75]

Very sad to hear. Hopefully things work out for the best.

[azhiker96]

Years ago I took flying lessons, even solo'd. One saying was pounded into my brain.
"There are old pilots, and bold pilots. But there are no old bold pilots."

[azbackpackr]

As I hear more about it, that old adage has run through my head several times!

The man was a private amateur pilot, (his actual job was ATF agent in Florida) and I surmise that being from Florida he had had little experience with high altitude take-offs. Add to that the 30 mph wind, the heat and the fact that two of the runways were torn up so he had to use a third, shorter one, just conspires against him. And then, to top it off, I heard he was taking off with the wind at his tail. Even I know you aren't supposed to do that! A friend was telling me that a pilot should have a book that charts all the variables that will tell him if it is safe to take off. And that he should have been drilled regarding the use of the book. And the fact that he almost crashed at the end of the runway twice, and then turned around and tried it a third time...what can you say to that?

It is just so sad. The two children were girls, 6 and 16. If you go on the White Mountain Independent's website there are links to memorials that people have posted on Facebook and Youtube, if you're interested. I watched part of a Youtube one memorializing the teenager, but it was too hard to take. She looked so beautiful and sweet... And her little sister was just adorable.

Our towns had a memorial the other night for the family, and the school district plans to build a permanent memorial to them on the school grounds. That is just how people are in my town: big hearts.

The other day I sat at a mtg. with two of the firefighters (they also volunteer with me with the search and rescue youth group, so I know them well.) They told stories about the fire. One said while he was in there, used "six bottles" and was on site for 17 hours, and he was sent to the hospital to treat blisters, but then went back. And they both said they tried to save the library. They did save it, but the books are too damaged. The computer lab and all the school's records and files were destroyed. The two-story part of the building with classrooms was not destroyed, just has smoke damage. I also asked the two of them if it was the most exciting fire they had ever fought. The young man, who had graduated from that school, said it was, the woman, who is much older, said for her it would be one of the most exciting. Firefighters do love to fight fires, after all!