Parents arriving at Cardinal Elementary School on Wednesday morning, carrying clear backpacks and lunch bags, were met by a school official informing them the school was closed due to damage caused by a lightning strike and subsequent fire. The building will remain closed until next Tuesday.

Richmond Public Schools Superintendent Jason Kamras said at a press conference at the school on Wednesday morning that there was no severe damage to the building’s infrastructure.

“Everything worked the way it’s supposed to work,” the superintendent said. “As a result of that, the damage was fairly notable and we’re able to get kids back into school within a relatively short amount of time.”

The second floor, home to second- and third-grade classrooms, sustained the most damage. Lightning struck the roof, igniting a fire that was quickly contained by first responders. Rainwater later flooded a hallway in the affected classroom wing.

Inside the school, bulky plastic air ducts run throughout the first floor to prevent humidity from being trapped indoors, including portable fans set around the floors to keep the interior cool and lower the humidity. The stairway leading up to the second and third-graders wing was no longer flooded, but each classroom’s furniture was covered in plastic to prevent more damage from the reconstruction of the ceilings.

Over 80 contractors are working inside and there will be more workers in the following days.

“We have contractors ready to go at something that happened so unexpectedly, so we’re really proud of what we’ve been able to accomplish here,” said Shovanda Dixon Fernandez, 9th District School Board member.

Richmond Public Schools Chief Operating Officer Dana Fox said the bulk of the damage came from the flooding and ceilingtiles, drywalls and carpet will have to be replaced.

She also said repairs to the roof will take around three weeks.

“[The roof repair] will take a few weeks, but it won’t impact the learning part once we open the doors on Tuesday,” she added.

In the meantime, the second- and third-graders have classes in the school’s gym for about two weeks.

With over 800 kids attending Cardinal Elementary, the school division also has been providing meals for students, as well as accommodating transportation for families who need meals.

RPS school health services will also be on site from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. on Thursday to disburse medication that students stored in the school’s clinic.