County officials offer help, advice and warnings to Lilac Fire victims

San Diego County officials held a press conference Friday morning offering help, advice and warnings to victims of the Lilac Fire, which has burned 4,100 acres and displaced thousands of residents of Fallbrook, Bonsall and surrounding North County communities.

Captain Kendal Bortisser of CAL FIRE San Diego said that 1,000 fire personnel, more than 100 engines and 15 helicopters are working the fire, which was still burning out of control Friday morning.

"When Santa Ana winds come in, there is no stopping them," said Bortisser. "So these crews continue to battle this incident. We have seven air tankers assigned to it today. We continue to fight the fire from the air and the ground."

Dianne Jacob, chairwoman of the San Diego County Board of Supervisors, said that 85 structures had been lost but she didn't know the exact number of homes. She noted that the county has five emergency shelters open but the Stage Coach Community Center and Oceanside High School shelters are full. Shelters are open at Palomar College in San Marcos, East Village Community Center in Escondido and the Bostonia Park and Recreation Center in El Cajon.

Jacob said there are approximately 900 people at the shelters. San Diego County Sheriff Bill Gore stated that since only 10 percent of evacuated people go to shelters - most go to stay with family or friends - it's probable that 10,000 people have evacuated.

Amy Harbert of the county's Office of Emergency Services said shelter information is available at sdcountyemergency.com and that the county will set up an emergency assistance center in Vista.

"We are working on establishing a local assistance center that will open on Monday at the Vista Library to help navigate victims through the recovery and rebuilding process," said Harberft. "Information on recovery can be found at sdcountyrecovery.com. We also have an email address for those that need assistance navigating the recovery process. It is [email protected].

"For the unincorporated communities, as soon as it is safe the county will be going in to conduct fire damage assessments in impacted unincorporated areas," Harbert continued. "We anticipate this to happen today as long as it is safe for the assessments to be made."

Gore said 150 law enforcement personnel -- 93 from the Sheriff's Department, 37 from the California Highway Patrol and 20 from County Probation -- are assigned to the Lilac Fire.

"The law enforcement personnel are primarily working on road closures and providing security in neighborhoods that have been evacuated so there are no issues with property being looted or any criminal activity. If you have evacuated your house, please rest assured that there is law enforcement personnel taking care of your possessions while you're out of harm's way."

Gore said people cannot return to their homes until the evacuations are lifted.

"For everyone's safety, we can't allow anybody back into a neighborhood that's been evacuated," said Gore. "We'll be manning road blocks to prevent that type of action."

Gore asked for people to be patient.

"I know it can be frustrating," said Gore. "Everybody wants to get back to their home. Just because you can't see flames doesn't mean your neighborhood is necessarily safe to return to. There can be other dangers such as embers that can burst into flames, hot spots, ruptured gas lines, and downed power lines. There's a whole list of things that can cause you great harm.

"We're working through all those issues with our partners, whether it's SDG&E or fire (officials), to make sure we're going to re-populate those areas as fast as we possibly can," continued Gore. "Again, public safety is our No. 1 concern."

Jacob added that she just recently learned that President Donald Trump has approved the California Emergency Declaration for wildfires throughout the state.

"This declaration will provide the region with federal assistance and support for emergency protective measures for the first responders," said Jacob.