Heat Forces Evacuation of Two Pasco Schools

Two Pasco schools were evacuated Tuesday due to power and HVAC failures, leading to rising temperatures that made it too hot for classes.

Longfellow Elementary suffered a power failure early in the morning, and students were taken to Ellen Ochoa Middle school while Franklin PUD workers attempted to restore power.

Then later in the morning, the air conditioning at Rosalind Franklin STEM Elementary failed, and those students were taken to Chiawana High School. The systems were fixed and restored, but not until much of the class day was lost.

Officials did not say what the cause of the AC failure was at Franklin.