A power outage that began around 10 a.m. Thursday knocked out electricity and air conditioning at multiple Coachella Valley Unified School District campuses in Thermal, forcing early dismissals as temperatures climbed into the triple digits across the desert. Affected sites included John Kelly Elementary School, La Familia High School, and the district headquarters itself, leaving students and staff without cooling during one of the hottest stretches of the summer.
The outage, which according to Imperial Irrigation District initially affected more than 200 customers, struck as the utility was already running a regional Conserve Alert asking customers to voluntarily cut power use through 10 p.m. that evening. Parents were notified of the outage around 10:30 a.m., and students began being released around noon, according to NBC Palm Springs. As of the station's report, the school district had not responded to a request for comment.
Union Demands Immediate Evacuations
The Coachella Valley Teachers Association called for the immediate evacuation and temporary closure of John Kelly Elementary and La Familia High, per an email cited by the outlet's report. The union said the district had not provided adequate alternative cooling spaces for students and staff, and separately said CVUSD lacked a functional emergency heat safety plan for the outage.
The outage raised concerns about conditions for students and staff at campuses left without air conditioning as outdoor temperatures reached the triple digits in the Coachella Valley. The timing was especially fraught: the National Weather Service maintained an Extreme Heat Warning across the valley through Friday, with forecast highs expected to top 110 degrees alongside a regional air quality alert for elevated ozone. Ahead of the outage, the district had already posted a heat safety alert on its website reminding families to make sure students had enough water at school.
A Grid Already Under Strain
The blackout landed in the middle of a broader energy squeeze. Imperial Irrigation District's Conserve Alert, active from 7 a.m. Wednesday through 10 p.m. Thursday, asked customers to avoid running major appliances and to set thermostats to 78 degrees or higher during peak grid hours of 4 to 9 p.m. — the kind of voluntary demand-response measure utilities use to head off forced rotational blackouts when prolonged heat pushes electrical demand near system limits. The utility serves roughly 165,000 electric meters across Imperial and Riverside counties and set an all-time record peak demand in summer 2024, surpassing its previous record by 25 megawatts.
Rural desert power infrastructure in the eastern Coachella Valley has faltered before under extreme weather. In August 2021, severe summer weather destroyed 33 power poles in nearby North Shore, leaving more than 660 Imperial Irrigation District customers without power for up to three days. By later Thursday, the utility reported progress on restoration, with power returned to 177 customers, though 36 customers still remained without electricity.
Legal Heat Standards Add Pressure
California law adds another layer of obligation for employers during events like this one. Under California Code of Regulations Title 8, Section 3396, which took effect in July 2024, employers are legally required to provide cool-down areas and implement heat mitigation measures whenever indoor workplace temperatures reach or exceed 82 degrees, according to the California Department of Industrial Relations. That standard underpins the teachers union's argument that holding classes without power or air conditioning failed to meet basic safety requirements for staff.
The scale of the challenge facing CVUSD administrators is significant given the district's footprint. Coachella Valley Unified School District covers a rural desert service area larger than the state of Rhode Island, serving roughly 17,000 students across 22 campus sites spanning unincorporated communities including Thermal, Mecca, and North Shore. Coordinating an emergency dismissal across that terrain, on short notice and without electricity at some sites, underscores the logistical bind rural desert districts face when infrastructure fails during extreme heat.
Thursday's disruption also arrives amid other friction between CVUSD leadership and its community. Just a week earlier, a public petition had circulated demanding a board trustee's resignation amid debate over district fiscal management and administrative transparency, adding to a season of heightened public scrutiny of how the district is run.
