Classes resumed in a Pennsylvania school district Monday after a raging fire tore through a garage and destroyed or damaged more than two dozen buses.
Officials announced all 11 Parkland School District schools will reopen Monday after they were closed Friday. About 9,400 students are part of the district.
Buses on loan from other districts, as well as buses spared from the flames, could be seen rolling through the school district Monday morning.
The buses caught fire around 3 a.m. Friday in a garage behind Orefield Middle School along Stadium Drive in South Whitehall Township.
When firefighters showed up a few minutes later, "there were flames coming out of all four sides plus the roof," Jeff Johnson, chief of the Tri-Clover Fire Co., said.
Firefighters had to retreat as tires exploded off their rims and flew through the walls of the building, taking metal siding with them, Johnson said. It took about an hour to put out the fire. No injuries were reported.
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The garage was destroyed. The yellow paint and "Parkland" name on the buses were melted off, leaving smoldering metal shells.
In all, 25 buses were damaged, around one fifth of the district's fleet, the district said. Sixteen buses were totaled adding up to around $1.6 million in damage. The district has insurance.
Other school districts are loaning Parkland buses, and they are working to repair ones that they can, the district said. The district covers 72 square miles.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
