Planada students surprised with new books after storm flooded library

PLANADA, Calif. (KFSN) -- Book after book destroyed. Thousands of them were damaged after a nearby creek flooded the Planada Elementary School library.

But a week after the loss, some help, from a young girl not very different from the students themselves.

At 11 years old, Danay Ferguson is the founder of Reading Heart out of Fresno. She says her dad saw the news about the library on Action News and wanted to help.

"It made me feel sad, because I normally have a lot of books, and I want everyone else to have a lot of books."

The organization donated 1,500 books to the school on Thursday. Each student took home two books to read during the break, the other 500 now replacing the damaged ones.

José González, the Superintendent of the Planada Elementary School District explains how he felt, "It was overwhelming. I'm a little skeptical of social media, but this is social media at its best."

Clean up is still underway at the school, and at this point, Superintendent González says they're still assessing the damage.

"They are removing the damaged floorboard, walls, insulation, and tracking how high the water went. They're inventorying the total loss."

While the school rebuilds, students scrambled to find their favorite new read.

"I'm excited about getting books, and reading them at my house after I do my homework, said 2nd Grader Sofia Chairez.

For Ferguson, it was a mission accomplished, "It feels exciting because you don't know what reaction they're going to get."

Gonzelez says they're still determining whether they can replace the damaged library, or have to tear it down altogether.