‘We don’t know where we’re going to go’

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

Spring Valley:

Laura Montelongo contemplated the uncertainty of her situation as she smoked a cigarette Thursday morning outside the Steele Canyon High School evacuation center in southern San Diego County.

A hill in front of the high school was burned over, but also dotted with homes that had somehow survived the onslaught of the 73,000-acre Harris fire.

Montelongo, 49, fled her family’s trailer in Dulzura and fears it may be destroyed. Her mother, who lives in the border town of Tecate, Mexico, also was evacuated, so Montelongo couldn’t go there.

She, two brothers and a sister-in-law were awaiting word about programs that might help them relocate, but she had no idea what the future held.

“We don’t know where we’re going to go.”

-- Ari Bloomekatz