Residents learn fate of their homes at service center

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Rancho Bernardo:

The first of five planned San Diego County service centers opened at Rancho Bernardo-Glassman Community Center late yesterday to help fire victims restart their lives, authorities said. Modeled on the Scripps Ranch service center from the 2003 Cedar fire, it is staffed by FEMA officials offering cash assistance, Small Business Administration representatives providing low-interest building loans, mental health and crisis intervention counselors, county staff to issue duplicates for lost documents from insurance companies and the state insurance commissioner.

The center can tell evacuees if their homes are lost or standing. San Diego police can escort those with salvaged houses back for strictly limited essentials: prescriptions etc. Residents were allowed into burned out homes yesterday, but some burned their hands digging through the rubble, so that access has been cut off.

As Qualcomm stadium begins to empty out and more people try to figure out what comes next, the service center will be there to help, said center director Debra Fischle Faulk.

“People are going to need help finding temporary housing and we’re trying to get a list countywide, and also hotel vacancies,” Faulk said.

“This is truly a one-stop shop now,” said Lt. Brian Ahearn of the San Diego Police Department, “where not only can they get an escort to their home, but they can get insurance information, alternate housing, find out how to obtain important documents maybe lost in the fire.”

-- Tami Abdollah