Health Experts Help Victims Heal Emotions : Coping: In the recovery process, the various stages fire-traumatized survivors undergo include denial, guilt and anger, counselors say.

Fire survivors who weep at the sight of their devastated homes are taking the first step in a long road to emotional healing, according to mental health officials who set up shop Friday in the ravaged city.

A team of about 15 Orange County mental health workers and Red Cross volunteers formed Friday morning at Dana Hills High School, then fanned out to Laguna Beach to help fire-traumatized children and adults.

People who were burned out of their homes often need emotional support, the experts said. So do those whose homes survived unscathed amid the rubble that was once their cherished neighborhood.

“I didn’t lose anything and I’m devastated,” said Robin Loveless, 43, whose home escaped damage in the fire. “I drive down the canyon and remember how green and beautiful it was and I cry.”

Judith Tuohey, a nurse who was one of the Red Cross volunteers, said while Laguna Beach homeowners may have seen their community ablaze on television, the reality of their loss does not register until they are allowed to return to the site of the devastation “and smell the smoke and breathe the ash.”

Often, Tuohey said, when a homeowner is able to find a familiar possession intact among the ashes, “it triggers tears.”

That sadness, mental health officials said, begins a grieving process similar to the one that accompanies the loss of a loved one. The process goes through stages including denial, guilt and anger before the victim recovers emotionally.

During that turmoil, Tuohey said, victims must be assured that what they feel is not unusual.

“In many cases, they think they are going crazy,” she said. “They need to be told they are acting normal in an abnormal situation.”

Judy Albert, a Red Cross volunteer who is a family and child counselor in Huntington Beach, said, however, that if a fire victim loses sleep or stops eating or cries uncontrollably for several days, he or she should seek counseling.

Moreover, mental health experts said Friday they will be on the lookout for suicidal behavior and child, elderly or spousal abuse, all of which may increase in the aftermath of a destructive fire.

Mental health experts said parents should show special patience toward their children, who under this newest stress may temporarily regress to thumb sucking or bed wetting and need to be “hugged a lot” and reassured.

Douglas Barton, deputy director of the Orange County mental health division, said its workers will continue to staff the shelter at Dana Hills High School. In addition, he said, the county outpatient mental health clinic at 30818 S. Coast Highway will stay open today and Sunday.

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Red Cross mental health workers said they will provide staff at a social services center on the third floor of the Wells Fargo building at 260 Ocean Ave. in Laguna Beach.

Albert said the most important gift anyone can offer a fire victim is to be a willing listener. “The most therapeutic thing is to listen and let them face their feelings and emotions,” she said.

A similar role is being played by a group of 12 to 15 police chaplains that came to Laguna Beach from throughout Orange County.

On Friday, the chaplains were lingering along the city’s bleakest streets where homeowners were patiently combing through the ashes in search of a treasured piece of jewelry or other belongings.

“We find it does them good to talk about how they got out of their houses and how the fire came up to them,” said Darrell Owens, chaplain with the Anaheim Police Department.

One chaplain, Owens said, came to the aid of a woman at El Morro Beach Mobile Home Park who found the remains of her beloved cat in the debris of her home.

“He prayed with her and helped her bury her pet.”