A bus driver tells the escape with 22 children

CORNING – On Friday, Kevin McKay, his mother Sherry, his son Shaun and his girlfriend dined quietly at the Corning Holiday Inn and Express, but a week and a day earlier, he had been tasked with putting 22 kids in the house. Ponderosa Primary School in Paradise in safety. .

Kevin McKay once ran Red Bluff Walgreens from Paradise, who has been living there since 1989. He has lived in the house he has lost to the fire since 2012. April 27, 2017 is a life-changing date. When he began his journey, he finally found himself in the precarious position of 22 students, two teachers and a young woman who boarded his school bus. It was the day he began his journey to become a school bus driver.

The bus was successful thanks to the help of two teachers, Abigail Davis and Mary Ludwig, who stayed in the bus, and the director Ed Gregorio, who followed in a van to help get the bus into traffic jams said McKay.

"They kept the students calm," said McKay. "The students were brave little soldiers."

The day started like any other day, but at 8:47 am on Thursday, November 8, everything changed and McKay and other people at Ponderosa Elementary School saw the smoke and started talking about it. There was no evacuation order at the time.

Ten minutes later, the call to evacuate has arrived.

"I was at Ponderosa Elementary and at that time I had an empty bus because I had just unloaded," McKay said. "It was pretty chaotic. Many parents had come. Not a bus driver deviated from the mandatory evacuation plan. Everyone did exactly what they were asked to do.

McKay and the teachers started the planning stages, reviewing the evacuation plan and making sure that each adult knew his role and had a copy of the list of students at their disposal. charge. The trip would not end until around 2:30 pm when they arrived at Biggs Elementary.

During this period, McKay telephoned to check his girlfriend as well as his son Shaun, sick at home and taken care of by his mother, Sherry. His girlfriend went to a hotel in Chico.

"As the administration was linking parents and children, I had time to call my family and make sure that they had left the city well and that it was allowed me to do what I do, "said McKay. "I was there where I was supposed to be. I feel blessed. It did not make sense financially for a while, but everything makes sense now. It's wild. It was the right place at the right time. "

The bus began its journey to safety, but by 8:52 it had only reached the Pentz and Wagstaff Roads, about one-eighth of a mile from the school.

"It was dark and smoky and was getting darker and darker, almost like twilight," said McKay. "An hour later, we had only traveled two miles and were on Clark."

The teachers were posted at the windows, constantly scrutinizing what was going on while watching the students. They also took pictures for him to document the trip.

Just before 10 o'clock, the fire was getting closer to the edge of the road, a completely engulfed building was visible and the students were starting to get angry, McKay said. A few minutes later, the bus passed McDonald's already on fire and KFC restaurants.

"Fifteen minutes and we were still there," said McKay. "Things have improved, but the fire has continued to come closer."

The bus was not going anywhere fast. Many people were out of their vehicles to see what stopped the traffic.

"This is where I saw something that gives me hope for the next generation," said McKay.

A 22-year-old man stopped because he knew there were children on the bus. The young man offered a bottle of water to the bus, apologizing that it was all that he had to offer.

Using the bottle wisely, McKay took his cotton shirt and tore it into strips that the teachers soaked in a wet before handing it to the students for them to use as a mask. It was a good time because many students were nauseated and some sleepy.

At 12:29, McKay said that he could see the beginnings of the sky and at 12:31. in the light of day as the bus passed through the dump on Neal Road.

Around 2:30 pm, the bus traveled to Biggs where they stopped at the Pizza Round Up restaurant. With the intention of stopping only for a break in the bathroom, the owner surprised the group with several pizzas and sodas of very large size. The stop calmed the students before going to Biggs Elementary School.

Unsure of whether he still has a contract employee job, McKay said he felt lucky to have succeeded.