UPDATE: Pasco spokesperson Linda Cobbe says they will notify parents the night before any future closures, which could be a problem for weeks due to ongoing smoke.
New Port Richey, Fla. (970 WFLA)-While firefighters are starting to get a handle on the Starkey wildfire... the smoke is so thick in places, it's forced the Pasco School District to close three schools.
Officials say smoke filled the campuses of River Ridge Middle and River Ridge High Schools... buses will be taking students home around 10 this morning.
Now school district officials are closing Cypress Elementary,which is about two miles east of River Ridge High.
Once again, River Ridge Middle, River Ridge High, and Cypress Elementary are closed today.
The Salvation Army is taking donations of certain supplies for the firefighters... including bottled water... at its location on Ridge Road about half a mile west of Little Road, in Port Richey.