Thousands more pack into Escondido shelter

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As of 11 a.m., 1,166 people had registered at the shelter at Escondido High. There were only 100 cots; the Red Cross was looking for more.

The boys’ locker room had been set aside for anyone with pets. By midday, it was full of dogs, cats and at least one bird, a parakeet named Pretty Baby sitting in a cage near the bathroom sinks. Some owners were spread out on blankets on the floor or on cots, asleep next to their pets, even as barking dogs disrupted the peace.

Another small building on the campus, set up with a television monitor, was packed with the displaced, watching the news.

Everywhere, they worried about the fate of their homes.

‘We’re really nervous about what has burned and what hasn’t,’ said Ann Germain, 63, as she sat outside the TV room with her husband. Both were wearing masks over their mouths because of the heavy smoke whipped up by a strong wind.

The Germains own a home in south Escondido, in a neighborhood called Del Lago on the Green, not far from the Wild Animal Park.

‘That’s getting pretty close to us, she said. ‘We’re real worried about our house, but feel lucky to get ourselves and our animals out.’

The couple fled about 3:30 am, after their neighbor knocked on the door telling them that sheriff’s deputies, following up on an earlier optional evacuation, were now saying it was urgent they get out.

The couple, who had returned from an East Coast vacation the night before, threw their unpacked bags in the car and grabbed their passports, medicine, cash and credit cards. They also tried rounding up their three Siamese cats, Zuki, Ming and Sheeba. But Zuki wouldn’t cooperate and after 30 minutes of trying, they left her behind.

‘She wouldn’t come to me. She got scared,’ Ann said. ‘We left the cat door open, so we’re hoping she can get outside if the fire gets too close.’

-- Christine Hanley