Bring Your Raft To School Day: 13 Classrooms Flooded In South LA

Photo by Maggiejumps via Flickr

A water sprinkler malfunction on Saturday at Loren Miller Elementary flooded 13 classrooms, ruined countless books and destroyed two dozen computers, reported school officials, according to LA Now.

Firefighters arrived at the South Los Angeles school on West 77th Street about 1:30 p.m. and after finding no flames, worked alongside school district employees and contractors to sweep water out of the one building where most of the flooding occurred, said Brian Humphrey of the Los Angeles Fire Department.

Fallen ceiling tiles were removed, maintenance crews used dehumidifiers to dry out rooms, and attempts were made to salvage some of the brand new computers. Principal Jean Mitchell said it looked as though "a tornado had hit" the school.

Cleanup is estimated to take a month, however doors are still set to open on Tuesday. The school has 1,045 students from pre-kindergarten through sixth grade, and operates year round.

“We’re just having to make some adjustments. We’re still going to be ready on Tuesday,” Mitchell said. “We’ll just have to shift some students around.”