Although these buildings have proven to be more than adequate as a temporary place to continue the educational process, it is clear that the loss of Lee Vining High School is a tragedy which has affected every part of this small community. The day after the fire, it meant a whole lot more. One by one, friends and colleagues filed up to the microphone to share memories and offer moving tributes to Dave and Don. It soon became clear that the weather was not going to cooperate. Today the gym is silent except for the sound of fluttering wings.
Pigeons now roost in the rafters above the buckled and shattered hardwood floor.
Thankfully, these banners, as well as trophies, yearbooks and other tangible symbols of Lee Vining Tigers tradition were saved and now await a new home. Last January, the insurance company announced the terms of a settlement, under which the high school would be almost completely gutted down to the masonry and then rebuilt as it existed prior to the fire, with required code upgrades. Anything not damaged in the fire, and not required by code to be upgraded, will be reused. For example, insurance would not pay to replace the old single-pane windows unless they were damaged. The rebuilding of LVHS is a golden opportunity to modernize the facility with improvements such as double-paned windows and technology upgrades.