Around 600 elementary and middle school students have been stranded for several days in snow-covered mountains as authorities scramble to rescue them.
Irvine Unified School District students were at science camps in San Bernardino County in California when heavy snowfall rampaged the southern part of the state.
Parents are growing increasingly concerned as the shutdown of several mountain roads left the students stuck there since Tuesday of last week. They were supposed to return home on Friday.
Some of the students are at Pali Adventure Camp in Running Springs, while the rest are at Thousand Pines Camp in Crestline.
As the storm intensified over the weekend, communication became increasingly difficult.
Parents told Eyewitness News they were not able to communicate with their kids because they weren't allowed to bring their cell phones on the trip.
One mother said her daughter ran out of medication. Teachers asked the child to write a letter to her mum, then took a picture of it and sent it to her.
Parent Janine Guenard told received a text from her daughter on Thursday, saying they were fine and had food and water.
But as the days go by, parents are growing more and more concerned about the safety and well-being of their children.
District officials said they were informed on Monday morning that the roads were safe for travel by buses, which they said would be escorted down the mountain by the California Highway Patrol.
It wasn't clear when that process would start or what time students would be expected to return.
In a statement to parents, the district said: "Please know that students will remain safe and under adult supervision throughout this process.
"As communicated previously, we encourage families to follow CHP guidance and to avoid the area so that roads can remain open for our buses, and we can bring our students down the mountain as efficiently and safely as possible."
Officials added that students would only be taking their backpacks with essentials, and the rest of their luggage would be returned at a later time by camp staff.
The statement noted that their first priority is getting everyone out of camp while road and weather conditions permit safe travel.
For now, the focus is on getting everyone home safely, authorities said as parents are eagerly awaiting the return of their children.
