Dana Rene Bowler / Star staff Firefighters get ready to fight the Malibu fire near an apartment complex in the 23300 block of Pacific Coast Highway. Five homes were destroyed and others damaged in the fire, which started Sunday morning near Malibu Canyon Road.

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Dana Rene Bowler / Star staff As flames burn on the hillside behind him, Henry Pope comforts his dog Tobey across from his apartment in the 22300 block of Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu. The fire, which started early Sunday morning, had burned 2,200 acres and was reported 10 percent contained as of late Sunday. Firefighters expect to battle the blaze all week.

Fillmore schools will remain closed today, as crews continue to battle several fires in and around Ventura County.

The threat of flames, fierce winds and smoky air prompted officials to close schools in Moorpark, Simi Valley and Fillmore earlier this week, citing students' health and safety as major concerns.

Moorpark College also canceled classes Monday and Tuesday and asked staff to stay home, leaving only a skeleton crew of administrators on campus. All but Fillmore schools are expected to reopen this morning.

"You always make your decision based on student safety first," said Larry Brown, assistant superintendent at Moorpark Unified School District.

But those decisions have been complicated this week by an unpredictable wind that has been blowing smoke and debris into and out of Ventura County, sometimes causing students and teachers to don masks.

The situation can change dramatically in five or 10 minutes, Brown said Tuesday, as he looked out his office window at relatively clear skies and a large cloud of smoke to the north.

School officials said they checked Web sites, listened to briefings and studied changing wind conditions before deciding whether to keep students home. They then did their best to get the message out to students and their families, using automated phone calls, messages on district and campus voice mail, e-mails and alerts on Web sites.

While schools are funded based on attendance, districts aren't expected to lose money because of the fire-related closures. State schools Superintendent Jack O'Connell said districts will receive credit for days campuses are forced to close because of the wildfires.

On a studentless Santa Susana High School campus in Simi Valley on Tuesday, Principal Pam Carter said teachers were playing catchup, preparing lessons and grading. Counselors were using the time to hold parent conferences.

Some students did show up at school, Carter said, but only to drop off lunch for their teachers.

Ventura County schools have had some practice calling emergency fire days in recent years, including during the Simi fire in 2003 and the Shekell fire last year.

Moorpark closed schools for both of those blazes.