As firefighters close in on the final flames, students in Southern California are recovering from the physical and mental consequences of one of the state’s worst natural disasters in years.
Stephanie Tsank, a second-year student at UC San Diego, said anxiety affected even those who were far removed from the fires.
Friends from her hometown of Encinitas were sending her pictures “and you couldn’t even see the sun,” Tsank said.
“When you aren’t there, when you don’t know what’s happening, you get a lot more uncertainty and fear,” she added.
Victoria Muchnik, a third-year physiological sciences student, agreed that the worst part was not knowing how people at home were. Muchnik said that while she was safe in Los Angeles she was more upset than her parents in San Diego were.
“I was more worried because I was detached from the situation. … I was freaking out,” Muchnik said.
Anthony Simone, a second-year neuroscience student, is eager to go back home to Rancho Bernardo to make sure everything is OK.
“I haven’t had a chance to see (my area) yet but I really need to go down there and see what’s going on,” Simone said.
Most Southern California residents were fortunate: The fires came close but did not reach their homes.
“There’s no damage to my house, but … two streets up from my house was hit really hard, and some streets were completely gone,” Simone said.
Muchnik’s neighborhood in San Diego was also in danger. She said winds saved her home when they began to blow the fire in the opposite direction.
“The fire came pretty close to my house ““ about three or four miles away. If it wasn’t for the winds, I think our house would be gone now,” Muchnik said.
Tsank said her parents were ready to leave at any moment.
“My dad was like, “˜We’re sitting here with all our stuff packed.’ My mom … was taking pictures of the house for insurance purposes,” Tsank said.
Adina Bodenstein, a fourth-year UCSD student, said initially students did not realize the gravity of the situation.
The morning of Oct. 21 “actually wasn’t so bad in my area ““ a little ashy, but we still weren’t really aware it was such a big problem,” Bodenstein said.
In fact, some students were excited about a potential day off.
“We were all really excited, like “˜Fire Day!’ We planned a little barbecue,” Bodenstein said.
Later that day the fires worsened, and they had to change their plans.
“We canceled our barbecue and kind of started freaking out,” she said.
Over the next few days, lives revolved around updates on the fires’ devastation.
“On Tuesday, I spent the entire day with the TV on,” Tsank said. Her parents had not slept at all the night before.
“They had to keep watching the news so they wouldn’t miss something,” Tsank said.
Simone had to balance studying for his three midterms that week with keeping an eye on the news.
“I was basically going crazy. … It was pretty intense,” Simone said.
UCSD students reacted differently to the voluntary evacuation order from the school.
Tsank did not leave the dorms until Wednesday. Bodenstein left San Diego on Monday night.
“We got an advisory evacuation on Monday night. … We decided to leave because they were threatening to close the 5 (Freeway). We were afraid we wouldn’t be able to leave San Diego,” Bodenstein said.
She and her boyfriend drove back to her house in Los Angeles.
Bodenstein said many students were prepared to leave town.
“My roommate was definitely ready to go. She packed up her whole life like a hurricane was about to hit it,” Bodenstein said.
Simone said there has been a range of destruction across Southern California.
“A lot of my friends came really close to losing their homes. A lot of people have minor damage, and a lot of homes are just gone too,” Simone said.
He added that people should be sensitive to the added stress this has put on a lot of students, especially those unable to go home to areas affected by fire.
“They’re trying their best to keep working on school, but I don’t blame them if they just have to take a break and be with their family now,” Simone said.