Bishop, CA – A significant multi-agency emergency response was dispatched to Bishop Elementary School Friday morning following a report of a structure fire that ultimately proved to be a false alarm. Just before 10 a.m., Bishop Fire Department (BFD) crews, alongside the Inyo County Sheriff’s Office, Cal Fire, and the California Highway Patrol, converged on the school after staff reported active flames in the fifth-grade hallway.
Upon receiving the report, school staff initiated evacuation protocols, guiding children safely out of the buildings to the back of the school. Students remained in this secured area until authorities cleared them to return inside. School staff noted that students had participated in a fire drill only the day before, which aided in the swift and orderly evacuation.
Bishop Fire Chief Bret Russell was among the first to arrive on scene. He reported a heavy smell of smoke emanating from the school’s kiln room and a female student restroom. Given the initial dispatch report of active flames and the presence of a strong smoke odor, Chief Russell upgraded the incident to a working structure fire. He established communication with school staff and commenced a thorough investigation into the source of the perceived fire.
Further investigation revealed that staff members had apparently mistaken the glare of sunlight coming through the roof in the attic of the building for active flames. To confirm the absence of a fire, the Bishop Fire Department utilized thermal imaging cameras. Chief Russell later confirmed in an email following the incident that the visual cue was compelling, stating, “It absolutely did look like fire.” He added that with the initial report and the perceived fire in the attic, responders acted appropriately until they could definitively confirm there was no actual blaze.
During the emergency response at the school, law enforcement agencies took measures to secure the area. California Highway Patrol and Inyo County Sheriff’s deputies closed down several streets leading to the campus, including Grove, Elm, and others, at their intersections with Home Street, to ensure public safety and allow emergency vehicles unobstructed access.
Students began returning to their classrooms around 10:20 a.m., approximately twenty minutes after the initial call, once the scene was declared safe. Following the students' return, the surrounding streets were promptly reopened to traffic. As a precautionary measure, colleagues at Sierra Wave Media shared that BFD would continue to check the school every 15 minutes throughout the remainder of the day while students were present in classrooms. Chief Russell extended his gratitude to all responding agencies for their efficient coordination and collaboration during the incident.
