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A second threat in two days kept students and staff away from Wheatland Union High School on Wednesday morning while law enforcement investigated, and a similar threat prompted officials to cancel classes at nearby Bear River Middle School.
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Wheatland Union High School District Superintendent Nicole Newman told families Wednesday morning not to bring students to campus until authorities gave an all-clear.
“Out of an abundance of caution, we are asking that you keep your students home for now while we receive clear direction from the Wheatland Police Department and the Yuba County Sheriff’s Office,” Newman said in a message to families.
“No students or staff will be on our campuses until we have the all clear,” she said.
Wednesday was already a regularly scheduled late-start day at Wheatland Union High, but Newman told families not to send students to campus until further notice. The district had not canceled Wednesday’s classes as of its latest morning update.
The nature of Wednesday’s threat, when it was received and whether authorities considered it credible were not immediately clear.
Bear River School cancels classes
The threat also affected nearby Bear River School, a fourth- through eighth-grade campus, where officials canceled classes Wednesday while authorities prepared to search with bomb-sniffing dogs.
“Law enforcement is responding to a threat this morning at Bear River Middle School and at Wheatland Union High School,” Wheatland School District Superintendent Angela Gouker said in a message to families.
The Wheatland Police Department contacted other authorities and requested bomb-sniffing dogs for a full search of Bear River, Gouker said.
“Given the time required to complete this process thoroughly, we have made the decision to cancel school for the day at Bear River,” she said.
Other Wheatland School District campuses remained open Wednesday, Gouker said, with additional staff assigned for supervision and monitoring.
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It was not immediately clear whether the two campuses were named in the same threat or received separate threats.
Tuesday bomb threat prompted extensive search
Wednesday’s response came a day after an early-morning bomb threat prompted an hourslong search of Wheatland Union High and the cancellation of Tuesday’s classes.
Yuba County dispatchers received a computer-generated telephone bomb threat at 2:07 a.m. Tuesday, according to the Wheatland Police Department. The caller claimed an explosive device had been left on the high school campus and would detonate unless a ransom was paid.
Officers initially inspected the campus and found nothing suspicious.
Wheatland Police Chief Michael Garlock was notified at 6:30 a.m. and requested additional resources for a more extensive search, police said.
Nine explosive-detection K-9 teams from elsewhere in the capital region responded and searched the high school. No explosive devices were found, and authorities declared the campus safe at about 11:30 a.m.
School officials initially delayed Tuesday’s classes before ultimately canceling them to give law enforcement time to finish the search.
Students who had already arrived were moved to the nearby Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, where school staff supervised them.
The disruption also forced the Yuba Sutter Food Bank to cancel its monthly food distribution scheduled for Tuesday evening on the high school campus. The food bank said the regular distribution would resume next month.
Newman said police had determined Tuesday’s threat was not credible. Wheatland police later described the incident as a hoax and said the department and Yuba County Sheriff’s Office were investigating its source.
Police had not said Wednesday morning whether the latest threat was connected to Tuesday’s incident.
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This story was originally published August 19, 2026 at 8:11 AM.