Refugees skeptical of government aid

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Lake Forest:

Standing away from the crowd surrounding Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger after his news conference at El Toro High School, four evacuees from Fallbrook--three men and one woman--waited to learn if their houses had survived the night.

They received a mandatory evacuation order on Monday as a result of the Rice fire, which has burned at least 7,500 acres and is about 10% contained, with 206 homes, two business and 40 outbuildings destroyed and 1,500 homes still threatened.

‘We haven’t heard back about our houses,’ said James Smith, 53, a resident of Fallbrook. ‘I finally got through to the San Diego Fire Department this morning, but they didn’t pick up.’

Ban Hedgerwood, 62, a long-time resident who lived in Fallbrook during the devastating 2003 Cedar fire, said the evacuation was orderly and quick. ‘Cedar Creek was a Chinese you-know-what drill,’ he said, referring to the rushed evacuations during the 2003 fire. ‘They learned their lesson with that one.’

When asked about the promised government aid, including a property tax break for residents whose houses were burned down, Jane Butler, 77, said she was impressed with the immediate care evacuees had received.

‘The care has been exceptional,’ she said, smoking a cigarette on the grass outside the gymnasium. ‘If we didn’t have our houses to worry about, it would be wonderful.’

Butler, who moved to Fallbrook in 1999, hoped to return to her house on Tuesday. But she was less optimistic that authorities would deliver relief anytime soon. ‘They’re making all these promises,’ she said. ‘We’ll see how quick they can make them come true.’

--Brandon Miller-de la Cuesta