AUGUSTA COUNTY, VA (Rocktown Now) — Students and staff were forced to evacuate a middle school in Augusta County yesterday, Thursday, August 15, 2025.

According to School officials, Stuarts Draft Middle School was vacated Thursday afternoon due to the presence of smoke in the building less than an hour from regular dismissal time.

The student body was relocated to Stuarts Draft High School which also served as a release center.

Shortly after, Augusta County Public Schools posted an update online reporting that all students and staff were safe and that the facility had been cleared to reopen.

The cause of the smoke has not yet been released.