As wildfires rage across Southern California, many at Pepperdine have houses in serious danger.
By Sarah Carrillo
Assistant News Editor
With 18 deaths, 2,600 structures lost, an estimated $2 billion in damage and 634,000 acres burned, the wild fires raging across Southern California have caused President Bush to declare four counties as disaster areas and for Gov. Gray Davis to declare a state of emergency in California.
Fires in San Diego, San Bernadino, Ventura and Los Angeles counties have caused more than 100,000 people to be evacuated from their homes and currently more than 2,600 families have lost their homes to the fires.
Freshman Nick Porter’s family is one of the many who have lost their home to the fires. Porter’s family was told to evacuate their home in Ramona, in San Diego County, Sunday morning and was fortunately able to take photos and other important items with them. Porter’s family went to his grandmother’s house nearby. Late Sunday afternoon, Porter’s father tried to return to his neighborhood, but there was nothing left. The family moved into a condo they own in San Marcos, also in San Diego County, and will stay there while their house is being rebuilt.
“Everyone is completely safe,” Porter said. “We’re really blessed, everything is under control, there’s not anything we really need.”
The fires in San Diego County have burned more than 250,000 acres, making it the largest brush fire since 1932, according to CNN. The San Diego fires have also claimed 14 deaths, the most of any of the fires. Steve Rucker, a fire fighter working in San Diego, lost his life as flames overtook him and several of his crew members as the fought to save a house in Julian. Rucker’s crew members are critically injured and are under treatment at the University of California San Diego hospital.
Other Pepperdine students whose families live in San Diego have dealt with the danger of the fire as well. Many have been evacuated and others have had the fire come uncomfortably close to their homes.
Senior Scott Harvey’s parents evacuated their home in El Cajon following the recommendation of local fire fighters. Harvey said that although this is the first fire that has caused his family to evacuate their house, they have faced similar situations in the past and have learned to be prepared.
“My parents planted a lot of vegetation around the house that’s not likely to burn,” Harvey said. “They also re-roofed the house four years ago so it won’t burn as easily.”
While Harvey is still unsure about the fate of his home, he said he is staying upbeat.
“We just have to remain positive and hopeful,” Harvey said. “Houses come and go but as long as everyone is safe I’ll be happy.”
Senior Lisa Griffin’s family was forced to evacuate as well, but unfortunately they were in Los Angeles at the time.
“My family was up here visiting this weekend when they found out about it,” Griffin said. “The roads were closed so we couldn’t go get any of our things. My parents were stuck here until late Monday night. They went back and everything was fine but the fire was really close. It was really scary not being able to know what was going on.”
Another Pepperdine student, freshman Lindsey Delp, also tried to get to San Diego when she heard of the evacuations. Delp’s family lives in Poway and was not allowed to go back to their house until Tuesday. Delp could not drive to Poway because the freeways in the area were closed.
“I felt really helpless,” Delp said. “Not that I could have done a whole lot if I had been there, but it’s hard to be separated from everyone when something like this is going on.”
Senior Melanie Bruce hadn’t planned on fighting a fire when she drove down to San Diego this weekend to visit her father but when the flames came close that is what she ended up doing.
“On Sunday my Dad woke me at 11 a.m. and outside it looked like it was seven at night,” Bruce said. “A grass fire started a half mile from my house so I went up to our roof to hose it down and there were about 20 of my neighbors doing the same thing. The heat felt like Las Vegas in the summer and I could hardly breathe, I only had a handkerchief to use. I didn’t want to leave in case my dad was evacuated but luckily the fire moved east and my family is out of harms way.”
Other Pepperdine students’ families in San Diego are not in any direct danger from the fire and are instead working to help those that are.
“My family has been helping out at a relief center at the Catholic Church near our house,” junior Annabel Mojica said. Mojica’s family lives in Fallbrook and while she said her family can see the fire from their home they are not worried.
Pepperdine students whose families live farther north in San Bernadino County have also been affected by the fires. More than 900 buildings in the area have been destroyed, including 300 homes in Cedar Glen, near Lake Arrowhead.
Junior Holly Elliot, a resident of Lake Arrowhead, said her family has been evacuated but fortunately the fire is on the other side of the lake from their house.
“My family was evacuated Sunday and no one is allowed back on the mountain,” Elliot said. “Some of my friends’ houses burned down and my cousin’s house in San Bernadino burnt down. My grandfather built that house, so we were pretty upset.”
Junior Nicole Garcia’s family in Victorville has not been evacuated, but the fires have had some effects on them.
“We’re close but not in any danger,” Garcia said. “My parents are basically trapped in Victorville. My Dad works in L.A. and he can’t get to work.”
The fire has had other effects besides evacuations. The smoke has caused poor air quality through much of southern California and has even caused flights at LAX to be canceled while air traffic control moved to a safer location.
October 30, 2003