Southern California Fire Update - Oct. 26, 2007
From Don Anderson, Chairman, OGT California-Arizona-Nevada Regional Division:
Progress continues to be made in fighting the terrible fires. There are still a few communities under fire threat. Our division delivered 91 quilts to the evacuation center in Chula Vista this past Monday. They expected 100 people but had about 500.
The outpouring of support from the community has been tremendous. There have been many touching stories in the media. Many people are being allowed back into their communities very slowly because of water shortages due to equipment damage from the fires. I will share just a few summary statistics from the six major fires here in San Diego County:
Total acres burned: 350,000+
Number of communities affected: 46
Number of homes lost: 1,313
Commercial properties lost: 34
Outbuildings lost: 222
Number of firefighters: 6,200+
Number of firefighter fatalities: 0
Non-firefighter fatalities: 7
Number of injuries - firefighters: 30
Non-firefighter injuries: 23
There have been no special needs broadcast that aren’t being taken care of by the communities or agencies at this time. The Pacific Southwest District of the LCMS has a fire relief fund to assist LCMS families that have lost their homes, in case anyone would like to help in that way. I will have more information as the situation is assessed.
My wife Shirley and I went back out to our Thousand Trails campground today to retrieve some papers that we left behind when we evacuated Sunday evening. The firefighters did a miraculous job saving the campground. The fire burned right to the edges of the campground around the entire camp. There were many RV’s stored at the camp plus all of the rental trailers, cabins and small houses and all of the many buildings that were spared. All of our neighbors in east Chula Vista have been able to return to their homes.
Our prayers are with all of the people who face an uncertain future because of the fires.
-Don