Irvine students avoid Dorner lockdown by days

Students from Irvine’s Santiago Hills Elementary School last week were at a science camp in the Big Bear Lake area that was locked down Tuesday while police hunted for fugitive ex-cop Christopher Dorner.

As police traded gunfire with a suspect believed to be Dorner on Tuesday afternoon, the Orange County Register reported about 300 sixth-grade students from Orange County were locked down at a Big Bear-area science camp run by the Orange County Department of Education.

None of those students, however, were from the Irvine Unified School District, an official confirmed.

“They’re not ours,” spokesman Ian Hanigan said.

Newport-Mesa Unified School District officials did not immediately return a call and email about the situation.

Students from Santiago Hills had been at the camp last week when the hunt for Dorner erupted in the Big Bear area Thursday.

The camp was not advised to lock down then and is about an hour drive away from Big Bear, according to an email sent to parents Thursday.

“As a precaution, we have been in frequent contact with officials from the San Bernardino Sheriff’s Department, who have been more than helpful in confirming that our students and staff are not in any danger,” wrote Santiago Hills Principal Corey Pace, who was at the camp with students.

— Jeremiah Dobruck

Twitter: @jeremiahdobruck