EARTHQUAKE: The Long Road Back : Week 2: Rattled, but Reopening : Optimism Glimmers for Some, as Businesses Strive for Normalcy
One week after the devastating Northridge earthquake, major employers, retailers and small businesses in the stricken areas are still scrambling to return to a semblance of normalcy--with varying degrees of success.
Workers and companies are taking pride in the progress that’s been made since the 6.6 magnitude earthquake struck before dawn seven days ago, followed by nerve-rattling aftershocks.
And a stubborn optimism is manifesting itself amid the gloom over initial projections of lost productivity and sales.
“You should see our before and after pictures,” said Jeff Charney, a spokesman for Rocketdyne, an aerospace firm in Canoga Park, which shut down after the temblor left its research facilities in disarray. “Some of our people have been working 50 hours without sleep to clean the place up. Employees are going to be shocked when they come in.”
Rocketdyne, a division of Rockwell International, planned to call about 95% of its 5,900 employees back to the job today.
Major retail chains, meanwhile, are expected to see a sharp drop in sales in Southern California because of the many stores they have been forced to close in the earthquake zone. The long-term impact on their balance sheets will not be known until they can accurately assess damage and determine when stores will reopen.
Small businesses in the San Fernando Valley were particularly hard hit and continue to face uncertainties about the financial aftershocks of repair bills that threaten their survival.
More than half of the estimated 7,300 small stores and restaurants in the Valley are believed to be unprotected by earthquake coverage.
Although commuting can be expected to vex Southern California’s working people for months--perhaps years--the good news is that their places of employment in the Valley are starting to reopen.
Great Western Bank, a major Valley employer, expects to have all but two of its branches reopened by today with services “virtually normal,” said Ian Campbell, senior vice president.
However, nearly all of the 3,000 workers at the bank’s Chatsworth headquarters are still being told to stay home. Several hundred employees will be called back beginning today, but for the most part transactions are being processed at facilities outside the earthquake zone--as far away as south Florida, Campbell said.
“In terms of serving our customers, we’re running virtually at full capacity,” he said. But only a few of the 15 buildings at the Northridge site were expected to be cleaned up, assessed for structural damage and safe for occupancy by this morning, he said.
20th Century Industries, the Woodland Hills insurance company that employs about 1,500 people in the Valley, has been at full force since Wednesday. The firm has diverted many claims to outlying offices and operated out of tents in its headquarters’ parking lot while repair crews salvage the interior.
Rick Dinon, senior vice president, said he expects the Woodland Hills facility to be operating normally today, although cleanup continues of files that were strewn across floors.
The company is operating on contingency plans set up for emergencies. Employees are being directed to call an 800 number and tune in to designated radio frequencies for instructions on when and where to report to work.
“Many of our employees are victims themselves,” Dinon said.
The giant department store chains are crippled by the closure of many of their stores. But they are insured and won’t bear the full brunt of lost sales and repair costs. Many retailers and shopping mall operators are most concerned about consumer reaction to long shutdowns.
“Consumers will change their shopping patterns depending on their needs and the availability of those products,” said Sandy Turner, marketing director for the Sherman Oaks Fashion Square, one of many area malls closed for repair. “Consumers have many choices, but some haven’t been aware of the options. Someone accustomed to shopping in Sherman Oaks may become a fan of Burbank shopping centers.”
Of the major chains, R.H. Macy & Co. may have to make the greatest adjustment.
In all, five of the company’s 16 Southland Bullock’s and I. Magnin stores are closed. The shutdowns complicate Macy’s financial future, because the company is under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and must submit a reorganization plan that includes an evaluation of assets.
Carter Hawley Hale Stores, operator of the Broadway chain, expects to reopen its Santa Monica store, one of the five stores the chain has closed, on Saturday. The company does not yet know when it will complete repairs on its Panorama City, Sherman Oaks and Canoga Park stores.
The retailer, which continues to operate 37 other Southland stores, plans to rebuild its wrecked Northridge store.
The prognosis for small business owners is far gloomier.
“If only 20% of the Valley’s retailers go out of business, we’ll be lucky,” said Jack Kyser, chief economist at the Economic Development Corp. of Los Angeles County.
“Some will survive if they get quick financial assistance from Small Business Administration or other federal agencies, but many will fail,” Kyser said. “The Valley retailers who are closed for repairs are in the greatest jeopardy.”
About 60% of the retail businesses in Northridge are still closed, said Jim Beal, president of the Northridge Chamber of Commerce. And about 30% of the retail businesses in Tarzana are shuttered, according to Ralph Herman, Jr., a member of the board of directors at the Tarzana Chamber of Commerce.
Times staff writer Don Lee contributed to this story.
