‘Apocalyptic’ flea infestations shut down 2 California elementary schools for cleaning

Two Oakland elementary schools are closed for a long weekend of intense cleaning following flea infestations one teacher described as “apocalyptic.”

“There are literally little tiny fleas all over, the kids started jumping around saying ‘oh my gosh Ms. Wilson! What is this? What is this?’” teacher Kathryn Wilson told KGO.

Esperanza and Korematsu Discovery Academy elementary schools, which are next door to each other, will reopen Monday, the Oakland Unified School District said in a news release. Earlier efforts to get rid of the fleas, which became a problem in mid-September, failed.

“We never want to close down a school, especially after the last year and a half we all experienced with COVID-19, but this is necessary to keep the school facilities safe,” said district chief services officer Preston Thomas in the statement.

Students at the two schools have been offered short-term independent study programs and homework while they are closed Thursday and Friday, the release said.

Officials said children and teachers should see a “noticeable” change when they return, but warned that some flea problems may continue.

Wilson, who teaches at Esperanza Elementary School, told KGO that children working in a school garden were covered in “more fleas than I have ever seen,” describing it as “apocalyptic proportions.”

“By the time we got home all of her face was like, she had insect bites from the fleas, and I was like, ‘oh my God what happened?’” parent Elizabeth Pena told the station about her daughter.

The fleas may have hitched rides onto the campuses from raccoons in an adjoining park, district officials told KPIX.

“When you walk through an area that has fleas, it might jump on your shoes, jump on your pants,” district spokesman John Sasaki told the station. “And as you walk, they’ll take a ride with you to wherever you are going.”