Structures Tumble in Piru, but the Townsfolk Stand Tall

Although Simi Valley and Fillmore suffered the most severe destruction in Ventura County in Monday’s earthquake, the tiny hamlet of Piru also incurred widespread damage that was not immediately reported to disaster officials.

Of the community’s 300 residences, seven were left uninhabitable, 18 were severely damaged and the remainder suffered cracks, county officials say. Damage to the commercial area was estimated at $2 million. The historic Piru Mansion, the community’s largest and best-known structure, was seriously damaged.

It was two days after the earthquake before American Red Cross officials could set up shop in the remote community, five miles east of Fillmore. But volunteers had already papered the town with signs warning residents not to drink the water. Others provided shelter to residents displaced by the quake.

“We were so busy trying to help each other that we did not have time to call for help,” said Al Gaitan, president of the Piru Neighborhood Council.

Red Cross officials set up a shelter Wednesday at Piru Elementary School, where water and food were provided. Many houses were still without gas, and many residents were camping on the school grounds.

“People were really scared of sleeping inside their homes,” said Carrie Barnecut, a Red Cross volunteer who handed out more than 120 blankets to earthquake victims Wednesday night. “Some slept inside their cars, others brought their mattresses. The grounds looked like a huge refugee camp.”

Food was scarce, with two of Piru’s three grocery stores closed because of damage. One of the community’s two restaurants reopened Thursday.

Few residents reported physical injuries--mostly a few broken toes and scratches. But some residents complained of dizzy spells and body aches.

“Things have not sunk in yet. I feel disoriented and often have to lie down,” said Sydia Lopez, 14.

“Everyone in our family is having headaches, vomiting and diarrhea,” added her aunt, Lydia Lopez, 49, as she waited for dinner at the Red Cross shelter.

The historic 15,000-square-foot Piru Mansion was one of the most damaged houses in town. The mansion, one of Southern California’s finest examples of Queen Anne-style Victorian architecture, is owned by Ruth Newhall.

“Everything was an awful mess--broken dishes, statues,” Newhall said. “You couldn’t put your foot anywhere.”

Damage to the mansion was similar to that inflicted in the 1971 Sylmar earthquake, she said. In both temblors, two-story chimneys crumbled to the ground.

In Monday’s quake, a front-porch pillar was jarred loose. Several Italian statues that decorated a garden surrounding the swimming pool were shattered.

It was the third disaster to befall the mansion since Newhall and her late husband, Scott, bought it in 1968. The house burned to the ground in a 1981 fire and had to be rebuilt.

But Newhall kept her spirits up, neighbors said. When neighbors stopped by the mansion just after the recent quake, she greeted them by saying, “That was a rude awakening, wasn’t it?” said Barbara Storli, who lives nearby.

Newhall said she does not have earthquake insurance.

“I gambled and I lost,” she said.

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But in Piru, where per-capita income is less than $8,500 a year, Newhall is not the only one concerned about repair expenses.

The owner of a grocery store, Ignacio Guevara, 64, said he fears that he will lose his small market, where the roof, walls and doors were severely damaged.

“I don’t want to get behind my payments,” Guevera said. “I saved money all my life for this, and now I could just lose it.”

Guevera said he plans to apply for federal loans offered to earthquake victims.

Joining other Piru residents applying for loans at the Federal Emergency Management Agency in Fillmore was Gaitan, the Neighborhood Council leader whose house was condemned.

“I hope I can qualify for a loan,” Gaitan said. “I want to repair the house so my mother can return to live there.”

Gaitan said he had to force his 82-year-old mother out of the house after a magnitude 5.1 aftershock Wednesday knocked part of the roof to the ground.

“The house was like her kingdom,” he said. “She has been there for . . . a long time. . . . I don’t even remember.”

Other residents said their biggest losses were heirlooms and collectibles destroyed during the earthquake.

“I lost nearly all of my grandmother’s teacups,” said Storli, 41. “I have only one left, and I am going to take good care of it.”

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Storli, director of a preschool in Granada Hills, moved to Piru only five months ago. She said she considers herself lucky. The house where she used to live in Granada Hills was severely damaged in the quake.

“I am so lucky, so lucky,” she said as she wiped dust from a crystal vase that survived the shaking.

Others were happy that residents of the already close-knit community had come together to help each another.

“People really stick together in this community,” said Liz Acosta, 35, who has lived in Piru for 11 years. “After the quake, people just went around knocking on each other’s door to make sure everyone was OK.”