Print

Email story

Comment

Letter to the editor

Up to 300,000 flee 'tragic' Calif. fires

Mass evacuations are ordered as fire crews scramble to keep up amid punishing gusts.

By TIMES WIRES
Published October 23, 2007

SAN DIEGO - Wildfires stretching from ritzy Malibu to the Mexican border drove at least 265,000 residents from their homes and destroyed millions of dollars of property Monday - and authorities said the fires will get worse before they get better.

"We have more houses burning than we have people and engine companies to fight them," said San Diego fire Capt. Lisa Blake.

Dozens of people were injured, and one death was reported Sunday night. In San Diego County, the unprecedented evacuation clogged highways and turned secondary roads into parking lots.

More than 600 homes burned, nearly 130 in one mountain area alone, and thousands of other buildings were threatened by more than a dozen blazes covering at least 520 square miles.

Soon after nightfall, fire officials announced that 500 homes and 100 commercial properties had been destroyed by a fire in northern San Diego County that exploded to 145,000 acres, said Roxanne Provaznik, a spokeswoman for the California Department of Forestry. The fire injured seven firefighters and one civilian, and was spreading unchecked.

With the fires still raging out of control, officials were unable to give full damage reports. But authorities already were predicting the fires in San Diego alone, which by Monday had charred more than 100,000 acres, would be far worse than the region's 2003 Cedar Fire, the worst on record in the state. It killed 14 people, destroyed more than 2,200 homes and charred 280,000 acres.

Weather forecasters say it will likely be Wednesday at the earliest before the bone-dry winds, gusting to 70 mph, subside.

Firefighters, who lost valuable time trying to persuade stubborn homeowners to leave, were almost overwhelmed as gale-force winds gusting to 70 mph scattered embers on the dry brush. California officials pleaded for help from fire departments in other states. In San Diego, fewer than 100 firefighters were in reserve to protect the 400-square-mile city, said John Langford, a spokesman for San Diego Fire and Rescue.

From San Diego to Malibu, more than 150 miles up the coast, hundreds of thousands of people were warned to leave their homes. More than 250,000 were told to flee in San Diego County alone. Hundreds of patients were moved by school bus and ambulance from a hospital and nursing homes.

In San Diego County, many of those told to evacuate ended up at Qualcomm Stadium, home to the NFL's Chargers, where thousands of people huddled in eerie silence on the bleachers, staring at muted TV reports of the wildfires. Many evacuees gathered in the parking lot with their pets, which were banned from the stadium.

The sprawling Del Mar Fairgrounds on the coast was also turned into an evacuation center, along with high schools and senior centers.

At least one of the fires, in Orange County, was believed to have been set. A blaze threatening the homes of the rich and famous in Malibu might have been caused by downed power lines, authorities said.

Mel Gibson, Kelsey Grammer and Victoria Principal were among the celebrities forced to abandon their homes over the weekend, their publicists said.

Another blaze was started by a car fire. Flying embers started new fires at every turn.

"It was nuclear winter. It was like Armageddon," Mitch Mendler, a San Diego firefighter, said as he and his crew stopped at a shopping center parking lot to refill their water truck from a hydrant near a restaurant.

Tom Sollie, 49, ignored evacuation orders in Rancho Bernardo to help his neighbors spray roofs with water. His home was untouched, but he watched a neighbor's house become nothing but a brick chimney. "If we weren't here, the whole neighborhood would go up. There just aren't enough fire trucks around."

By nightfall, embers had ignited spot fires in the ultrawealthy suburb Rancho Santa Fe, north of San Diego.

The blazes in San Diego County and elsewhere erupted one after another over the weekend. Things got worse Monday, when several new fires erupted and others merged. Parts of seven counties were ablaze.

Firefighters complained that their efforts were hampered by people who refused to leave their homes. "They didn't evacuate at all, or delayed until it was too late," said Bill Metcalf, a fire boss.

"Its a tragic time for California," Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said.

Survivor tales

They're just happy to get out alive

Resigned: Waiting in line for food at Qualcomm Stadium, Maxine Rubin, 71, said she awoke at 4 a.m. to see flames leaping toward her home. "Actually, it was quite beautiful. The red glow reminded me of an erupting volcano." She grabbed her three dogs and fled, not even taking time to change out of her pajamas. "I'm resigned to losing my home," she said. "I think it's gone by now."

Prepared for the worst: Michael Craig, 47, fled with his wife, two children and a grandchild to Qualcomm. He was careful to take water and blankets. "I'm just happy to get out alive," he said. "The house may burn down, but we're safe for now."

Very scary: "I could see the flames when I was trying to get the cats in the car. I couldn't breathe unless I pressed my face into the car. I'd just take a deep breath and run back into the house to get more things. It was very scary," said Shannon Spilman, 31, who evacuated to Escondido High School.

A balance: "You have to keep a balance between fear and calm," said Cindi Stetson, 44, of Escondido, stuck in traffic on an interstate overpass. Her two children were in the back seat.

[Last modified October 23, 2007, 00:16:24]