Students Sickened At Marin County Educational Ranch
PETALUMA (BCN) - Approximately 50 Bay Area students and adults on a five-day educational trip in western Marin County became ill Wednesday night and were sent home, a fire dispatcher said.
The affected students and teachers were part of a larger group staying at the Walker Creek Ranch, which is a campus of the Marin County Office of Education.
The dispatcher said a fire engine was sent to the scene on a report of a sick person with flu-like symptoms at about 10 p.m. and found roughly 50 students in a weakened condition.
None of the sickened students were transported for medical treatment, the dispatcher said, but instead, the ill students were released at the scene and taken home by family members or guardians.
The ranch, which is located at 1700 Marshall-Petaluma Road in unincorporated Marin County near Petaluma, is comprised of an outdoor school, conference center, and summer camp, according to the facility's website.
Outdoor school principal Mike Grant said that students from three Bay Area schools had been staying on the campus this week and that the illness seemed to spread equally among the schools.
Grant estimated that 52 or 53 people were afflicted with flu-like symptoms, including vomiting and diarrhea, and that the number of ill included mostly students, but also a few teachers and accompanying high school students.
The ranch, which has been in operation since 1963, hosts fifth and sixth grade students, Grant said, with 200 students on average visiting the site every week for its 5-day residential science school.
The trouble began early this afternoon, Grant said, when "there were a few kids who were sick to their stomach."
From 2 p.m. until 10 p.m., that number swelled, and Grant said that with the input of Marin County health officials some healthy students were sent home as well.
"We decided that we had to get them home and get the bug out of the environment here," Grant said.
The students were visiting from San Ramon Elementary School in Novato; Tassajara Hills Elementary School in Danville; and Redwood Day School in Oakland.
The source of the illness had not been pinpointed, Grant said, although it seemed to originate from one cabin. "We're assuming it's something viral that hit pretty hard and quick."
Some students were still on their way home as late as 3 a.m.
"It seems to be winding down, but it's been a pretty big afternoon and evening here," Grant said.
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