Yelm High cancels classes for gas leak

Students are expected to return to classes Tuesday at Yelm High School, which underwent an emergency closure Monday.

The scent of natural gas was detected at the school at about 5:10 a.m. by the assistant principal, according to principal Brian Wharton.

“He contacted district facilities director and the local fire department,” Wharton said. “Quickly, the source of the gas was found at a cooking station in the cafeteria kitchen and was turned off. The process of ventilating the building began. Only the main building was impacted.”

At that point, district officials opted to cancel classes, even though many students were already on buses.

“We set up a receiving area in the gym building in case we had to house students this morning, but all students were able to get home,” Wharton said.

Teachers and staff found ways to work outside the main building throughout the day, he said. Monday’s athletic events and practices were expected to run on their normal schedule.

Because it was an emergency closure, the district will need to make a request with the state so that students won’t have to make up the day later in the year, Wharton said.

“The rest of the district was in regular session,” he said. “We will know for sure when the state makes a ruling.”

This story was originally published September 14, 2015 at 8:22 AM with the headline "Yelm High cancels classes for gas leak."