10News.com
Evacuations Largest In Region’s History
Fallbrook, Valley Center Under Mandatory Evacuations
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SAN DIEGO — The largest community evacuations in San Diego County’s history were under way Monday as two massive fires continued to push through the region, devastating neighborhood after neighborhood.
Fallbrook is now under a mandatory evacuation. Evacuations are beginning on the eastern half of Fallbrook; from Insterstate 15 east to Live Oak Park Road, to Gird Road, and East Mission Road to the north and San Luis Rey River to the south.
Valley Center is also under a mandatory evacuation. Evacuations are beginning in a large area of Valley Center, near the Bear Valley area. Valley Center High School is the evacuation center. Residents in Valley Center should play close attention to news reports because of the serious fire threats.
Residents living north of State Route 56, west of Interstate 15 and east of Interstate 5 were advised to pack up and clear out of their homes, even before receiving a phone call directing them to do so.
By late morning, authorities had issued 120,000 reverse 911 phone calls, under a system that informs people about evacuation plans. Unofficial estimates put the number of evacuated people at as many as a quarter-million.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who declared a state of emergency Sunday afternoon in San Diego and a handful of other Southern California counties, announced his intention to visit the stricken region today to survey the damage.
San Diego Fire Chief Tracy Jarman announced that help was on the way in the form of 1,000 fire engines, coming from all over. Her department was stretched thin, with 360 firefighters and 75 engine companies working the fire, leaving only 40 personnel to handle any other emergency that might present itself.
Officials had no precise count of lost homes, but County Fire Coordinator Chief Bill Metcalfe said the areas with the most damage were the southern portions of Escondido, Rancho Bernardo, north Poway and the 4S Ranch area.
Sheriff Bill Kolender stressed that people should limit their cellular telephone use to prevent system overloads that could hamper emergency communications.
The sheriff also urged people to promptly obey evacuation orders, noting that some firefighters were called off the front lines overnight to herd people out of harm’s way.
“Realize that your life is more important than any property you have,” Kolender said.
Two of the two biggest blazes burning in the county — the Witch Creek and San Pasqual Valley fires — merged this morning, creating a unified front in the North County.
Two other blazes, the Coronado Valley Fire and the Rice Canyon Fire in Fallbrook, had died down as of midday. Metcalfe stressed, however, that those fires were not out and could begin burning in earnest again, depending on the winds.
Together, the two biggest blazes — the Witch Creek Fire and the so-called Harris Fire, which was burning near the border — had scorched a total of about 30,000 acres by midmorning. Both were burning out of control.
“The situation is worse than any of us could have imagined,” Metcalfe said.
Mayor Jerry Sanders urged residents of potentially affected areas to “have your car packed right now.”
Residents were told to go to Qualcomm Stadium if headed east or to the Del Mar fairgrounds if headed west.
The mayor’s office put out a call the public to help provide for the evacuees at the Friars Road sports arena. The following items, which should be taken to the stadium’s “P” gate, are needed: tents, cots, water, blankets and prepared food.