Updated: Lake Roosevelt Schools evacuated after smoke in kitchen

Smoke from an electrical panel in the new school kitchen set off an alarm and caused evacuation of some 700 students at about 9:30 a.m. Tuesday.

The incident put the school's emergency plan into action and students were walked to the old Lake Roosevelt High School gym awaiting the arrival of parents and buses to take them home for the day.

School will reopen Thursday, after the electrical panel is checked and fixed, and after staff has been briefed on Wednesday regarding the incident. There will be no school for students on Wednesday, but staff must report for work.

The fire marshall shut the building down and people were not allowed in. There were no injuries and the emergency plan appeared to be working well.

Students gathered in the gym, filling most of the bleachers, and parents who arrived for their children had to go to the old high school office where a checkout system was in place.

Parents were not allowed in the gym without first going through the checkout procedures.

Monitors were everywhere dealing with the movement of adults and children.

At 10:15 a.m. calls for specific buses were being made in the gym, and students were taken to their buses in an orderly manner.

The Star newspaper on Wednesday will have more on the story.