(Wed) Temecula helps evacuees, faces fire

While escaping much of the devastation, the Temecula area grappled with a crippling freeway closure and waves of wildfire refugees from the south and west who flooded into a string of makeshift Red Cross centers.

“We have been on the run from fires for the last two days,” said Manuel Renteria, a bedraggled Ramona resident who fled the massive Witch Fire that roared through much of central San Diego County.

Renteria said he had heard that a Temecula evacuation center had opened but he did not know its location. A police officer spotted him parked at a fast food restaurant on Temecula’s south side and directed him to a shelter at the city’s Community Recreation Center. But that center had soon reached its 250-person capacity and Renteria and his companions were relocated to Temecula Valley High School, which also quickly swelled to its limit.

Kathy Seaman and her extended family fled from the Valley Center area to Temecula as flames licked at their heels.

“We were evacuated from Rincon this afternoon,” she said Wednesday. “We took our kids and grandchildren, six dogs, three of which are puppies and rushed over here. Fire was almost up to Rincon.”

Buck Linton, a resident of the La Jolla Indian Reservation, brought his own tale of fire-borne terror to Temecula.

“We were evacuated at 4 a.m.,” he said in a staccato-style burst. “My neighbor woke me up. Fire was everywhere, I had to rush out and get to my father and sister. The only thing I was able to take were family members and my dog, Duke. The fire was on our tail. I saw five homes up in flames.”

Thousands of evacuees from scores of communities throughout Southern California will be telling such tales for weeks. More than 300 homes have been destroyed in Fallbrook, De Luz, Rainbow, Palomar Mountain, Pala and other surrounding communities in a series of wildfires fanned by Santa Ana winds that gusted to 70 mph.

Fallbrook was gripped by the Rice Fire, which began in a canyon east of Interstate 15 and crossed the freeway early Monday afternoon. It destroyed condominiums and mobile homes on the west side of the freeway before turning north into oak groves.

I-15 was closed from Highway 79 South in Temecula for days. Fires in Camp Pendleton roared across eight lanes of Interstate 5, closing a second crucial north-south link for hours. Much of Highway 76, which connects Interstates 15 and 5, was closed through Wednesday afternoon.

President Bush declared a federal emergency in San Diego County, which was hit hardest by the fires. Damage estimates there soared beyond $1 billion as five major fires continued to burn. Gov. Schwarzenegger declared a similar state of emergency in Riverside County. Temecula declared a local emergency because of fires in the area and regional evacuations.

The fires blackened skies, filling the air throughout the region with lung-clogging ash and smoke. Students attended classes in Temecula and districts to the north on Wednesday. Schools were dark south of the San Diego County line. Scores of firefighting airplanes and helicopters have filled the ash-laden air.

Temecula and Murrieta officials said their campuses would be closed Thursday due to poor air quality and a decision would be made then as to whether classes would resume on Friday. Pets were also put on the move as a result of the extensive and fast moving fires that shifted with the wind.

Willa Bagwell, director of Animal Friends of the Valley, said that more than 100 dogs, cats and other pets had been taken to the shelters at Temecula High and the Community Recreation Center by Tuesday morning. Local Target stores provided food and cages for many of the animals. Horse trailers lined Rancho Vista Road, which flanks the CRC in Temecula.

Temecula officials scheduled a fire information meeting at 6 p.m. Wednesday at Great Oak High School for residents of the Redhawk, Vail Ranch, Wolf Creek and Morgan Hill communities on the city’s south side. Residents of those communities south of Temecula Parkway (formerly named Highway 79 South) were predictably wary of flames skirting Mount Palomar.

Riverside County officials on Wednesday countered what they called inaccurate evacuation orders that some Redhawk residents had received via an automated telephone alert system. Riverside County is one of many Southern California agencies that can send recorded evacuation messages.

But Riverside County’s system was not activated Tuesday and it had not been used since fires broke out recently throughout the region, said county spokesman Ray Smith. He said county emergency officials could not determine the source of the inaccurate messages and Redhawk residents were advised to ignore them.

A snapshot of the fires crippling the region includes:

The Rice Fire in the Fallbrook area consumed 8,000 acres and was about 15 percent contained, California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection officials said late Wednesday afternoon.

At that time, the Rice fire had destroyed 206 homes, two commercial buildings, and 40 out buildings. Approximately 2,500 homes were threatened and 35,000 residents had been evacuated. More than 720 firefighters were assigned to that blaze.

The Poomacha fire, which started at the La Jolla Indian Reservation in San Diego County Tuesday afternoon, quickly consumed 25,000 acres and an estimated 50 homes. Firefighters had not flanked much of the fire by Wednesday afternoon, when approximately 2,000 homes were threatened. Ten firefighters had been injured fighting that blaze and 659 firefighting personnel were assigned to the fire.

The Rosa Fire burning east of Temecula was 70 percent contained as of Wednesday afternoon after covering 421 acres. That fire was threatening 175 residences and 223 firefighting personnel were working on containment. The Roca Fire, also east of Temecula, was 100 percent contained. That fire began Sunday and consumed 270 acres and damaged one home. It was attacked by 108 firefighters

The Witch Fire, which began east of Ramona and was first reported Sunday afternoon, had burned nearly 200,000 in three days and was one percent contained. That blaze destroyed 805 homes, 100 commercial properties and 500 outbuildings. Another 375 homes, 75 commercial properties, and 50 outbuildings were damaged in that fire.

Twelve firefighters were injured fighting the Witch Fire and about 1,840 of them were assigned to that blaze, according to a Wednesday afternoon report.

Kathy Zelasco and Joe Naiman contributed to this story.