President Bush declared a state of emergency across Southern California as firefighters continue to battle over a dozen fires from Los Angeles to San Diego and as far north as Santa Barbara.
UCLA students from the affected areas have struggled to stay in touch with their friends and families and some have learned that they have lost their homes due to the fire.
Ross Rinehart, who is a Daily Bruin contributor, said he lost his family’s home Monday in Rancho Bernardo, a community in San Diego, due to the wildfires.
The third-year political science and English student said his parents had seen fire in their neighborhood, took their dog and decided to leave.
“I called my parents, and they had evacuated at 5:40 a.m.,” he said. “At that point, I started really freaking out.”
Chancellor Gene Block issued a statement Tuesday afternoon expressing his concern for those directly affected by the fires.
He also directed staff and students to resources available, such as Student Psychological Services, the Office of the Dean of Students and the Staff and Faculty Counseling Center.
Officials said that, until the Santa Ana winds subside, which is not expected for at least another day, firefighters can do little more than try to wait it out.
Two people have died, and 40 people have been injured so far due to the fire, which has spread about 600 square miles and destroyed 1,300 homes throughout Southern California. The number of people evacuated has climbed to 800,000.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said 68,000 homes were in danger of being destroyed.
“We have had an unfortunate situation that we’ve had three things come together: very dry areas, very hot weather and then a lot of wind,” Schwarzenegger said. “And so this makes the perfect storm for a fire.”
Rinehart said his was one of about five houses on his street that was destroyed by the fire.
While his parents stayed with other family members, Rinehart said they were later able to return to their property the day after to inspect the damage, which was “completely demolished,” while on local television.
“At first it was pretty shocking. … It didn’t settle in until a couple hours later … (when I) had to make list of everything that was in my room for insurance purposes,” he said.
“If it’s this big and blowing with as much wind as it’s got, it’ll go all the way to the ocean before it stops,” San Diego Fire Capt. Kirk Humphries said. “We can save some stuff, but we can’t stop it.”
The Canyon Fire in Malibu ““ which is the fire closest to UCLA’s campus ““ continues, as well as the Magic Fire in Valencia, which is southwest of the Six Flags Magic Mountain theme park. While the Magic Fire has not resulted in any damaged or destroyed property or injuries, Los Angeles County officials issued a public health advisory regarding the air quality because of the wildfires.
“The air quality around the campus may not look particularly poor; however, the air quality advisory has been issued for (all of) Los Angeles County,” said Dr. Marc Riedl, assistant professor of clinical immunology and allergy at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.
He said that, while the air quality may be especially difficult for people with asthma and other respiratory illnesses, the air quality is classified “unhealthy” for everybody for at least 24 to 48 hours, even though UCLA’s campus is miles away from the closest fire.
“The particles of smokes on the fires can have affects from long distances from actual flames. … (It’s) difficult to put a radius on it,” he said.
Anna Pione, a second-year business economics student, said she went home to Irvine for the weekend and saw the fires in Orange County begin.
“The sky was completely orange and insane looking,” she said.
She added that her and her friends know many people affected and the wildfires are a large issue right now.
“My (resident assistant) has relatives down in San Diego who are probably going to lose their houses,” she said. “It’s something I’m really seriously concerned about right now.”
Rinehart said he is grateful that his family is safe, and he has been able to keep in touch with them and received a lot of support on campus.
“People have been coming up to me and offering their condolences and that has really helped a lot,” he said, adding that “it kind of sucks to not be able to go back immediately and be with my family.”
Classes at UC San Diego and San Diego State University have been cancelled for the rest of the week.
With reports from Bruin wire services.