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Potter fire victims receive assistance, discuss fire

The school and the community have banded together to assist the students of Potter Junior High who lost homes in the Fallbrook (Rice Canyon) Fire.

Ten families at the school were affected; however, five of those families refused assistance because they felt they possessed the resources to deal with the tragedy on their own.

When it became evident that the school needed to be evacuated, parents were called and told to come and collect their children. Out of 1,050 Potter students, 650 were picked up by their parents or family members. The rest of the students were bussed to a safer location at Maie Ellis Elementary School.

After the fire, representatives of North County Fire met with the school staff in order to brief them on ways to deal with the tragedy, questions they might be asked and the proper responses to give.

“There is ongoing counseling,” said Tom Rhine of the Fallbrook Unified School District, “and counselors available.”

As part of the community effort to assist the Potter Junior High students who lost homes in the Rice Fire, KB Home provided backpacks full of school supplies.

Judy Woolen and Crista Curtis of KB Home recently presented the backpacks to students Jennifer Gonzalez, Diana Garcia and Maggie Ibarra. Two students were ill and will receive their backpacks at a later date.

Barbara Petrone, representing Bonsall’s Riverview Church, was also on hand Friday to present the girls with gift certificates from the Yogurt Palace in downtown Fallbrook. The church also presented $1,000 Target gift cards to five families at Potter Junior High.

“The money was donated from members of our congregation,” Petrone commented.

The families have also received donations from Major Market, El Toro Market and Costco, as well as other stores.

As the three students told their stories it was evident that they evacuated mostly with the clothes they were wearing to school that day.

The family of Diana Garcia, who lived in Valley Oaks Mobile Home Park, was able to evacuate with their chickens and dogs. She told how her mother gathered the animals while the flames approached within feet of where she was standing.

Diana also mentioned how her mother picked her up at school, but Diana herself was unable to return to her home and gather any belongings. She said her immigration card burned in the fire.

“It has been hard because now I can’t go to see my grandma in Mexico,” she said sadly. The family is now in the process of obtaining new cards.

Jennifer Gonzalez said that her mother picked her up and they evacuated to a cousin’s house. Jennifer said they only had water and some blankets with them.

One of the students bussed to Mae Ellis School was Maggie Ibarra. Then, a cousin picked her up and they evacuated to an uncle’s home in Temecula. She had time to “grab a few clothes” – nothing else.

Principal Terre Peterson was impressed by the fact that “all three of these students returned to school on Halloween [the first day of class after the fire].”

Potter Junior High Lead Teacher Pat Donahue encouraged the trio by helping them find something positive in the aftermath of the tragedy.

The three students first gave counselors Keely Smith and Rob DeVault praises for helping them deal with the fire.

Diana responded by telling Donahue that five of her family members had been collecting coins in “piggy banks” and when they returned to the ashes of their home, they were able to fill an entire wheelbarrow with the coins that survived.

Jennifer was happy to report that her mother’s wedding ring was found in the ashes of their home.

One of the students, Maggie, put a positive spin on the fact that she was able to spend so much time with her family during the evacuation.

“I think the most valuable thing is being with your family,” she said, “but it will be a while before our lives get back to normal.”

Diana agreed, “It is not going to be the same.”

 

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