EARTHQUAKE: THE LONG ROAD BACK : Rain Threat Brings New Fears as Area Recovers From Quake : Weather: Sunday’s storm was mild, but the predicted half an inch for today could hamper cleanup efforts and worsen conditions for displaced residents.

A mild storm early Sunday dropped only a fraction of an inch of rain on much of the county and spared the areas hit hardest by last week’s earthquake, leaving refugees who camped in tents and cars in Fillmore and Simi Valley dry at least for the present.

Virginia Ortiz, 62, and her family were among those camping after the earthquake damaged their Fillmore home. They were allowed back into their house Saturday night, but other family members were still sleeping in a trailer over the weekend.

“It was really a miracle,” Ortiz said. “I prayed to God that he wouldn’t send us any rain. We don’t need that right now.”

But weather forecasters said a stronger front carrying more rain and cooler temperatures was on its way from the Gulf of Alaska. The National Weather Service predicted up to half an inch of rain across the county by mid-day today, with temperatures dipping into the low 40s at night and low 60s during the day.

The rain could hamper efforts to clean up an oil spill in the Santa Clara River east of Piru if the runoff pushes the slick beyond a 12- to 15-mile area where the oil is contained, officials said.

Cleanup crews were expected to work through the weekend to vacuum up the crude, which poured from a pipeline ruptured in Valencia during the Jan. 17 earthquake. The cleanup effort is expected to continue for weeks, even without rain.

Heavy rain could also cause more buildings to collapse in the severely damaged downtown district in Fillmore as collecting water adds weight to already unstable rooftops, said John Foy, a Ventura County Fire Department spokesman.

“We’re still in the emergency mode because of the threat of rain,” he said. “We’re worried about things like basements filling up with water. In general, the rain is just going to make a mess.”

In Simi Valley, P. J. Scholer came to the Red Cross shelter at the Royal High School gymnasium for lunch. She said she hoped that the storm forecast for today would again skip over the city because she is sleeping in her car.

“I lived in the new three-story senior apartment building,” Scholer said. “But I’m afraid to go back in there.”

Still, Scholer said she would survive if it rains.

“At least I have a car to sleep in. Some people don’t even have that,” she said.

Disaster center manager Beatrice Hutson said 115 people stayed at the gym shelter Saturday night. The gymnasium Sunday was a sea of beds and blue blankets, with children’s toys, boxes of clothes and other belongings scattered around. A cat in one of the dozen pet kennels near the entrance yowled to get out of its cage.

People are concerned about the possibility of rain, Hutson said. But they have a warm, dry place at the shelter.

“We have a television set up for them,” she said. “And the kids are happy now,” she said, pointing outside to an inflatable room with a large purple dinosaur on top where children were allowed to bounce around.

Jeff Hightower of Simi Valley said he brought the “Din-O-Rama” to the high school to cheer up the children. Shelter officials and a county mental health employee said Hightower’s idea was working.

“I love it!” said Carmen Acosta, 7, of Simi Valley. “It’s bouncy.”

A few miles away at the Federal Emergency Management Agency center at the Sycamore Drive Community Center in Simi Valley, quake victims waited to talk with workers as officials vowed to keep the emergency office open as long as they are needed.

Two dozen more FEMA interviewers arrived at the center Sunday, bringing to 80 the number of workers on hand to help victims of the 6.6 temblor sort through the loan and grant application process.

Workers on Sunday were guiding victims to various agencies, sending some to the Small Business Administration, Veterans Administration, or state and federal tax offices. The Veterans Administration was offering $200 vouchers to those meeting its eligibility guidelines.

Tom DeRose of Simi Valley, whose home remodeling firm sustained major damage in the earthquake, waited at the FEMA office with his wife, Sherri, for a chance to apply for a SBA loan. DeRose said he lost cabinets and other inventory valued at more than $300,000 when the ceiling of his Northridge shop collapsed.

“If we don’t get some type of funding, we’ll be out of business,” he said. “Someone told us it was going to be a couple of weeks before we get any help.”

Outside the auditorium, hundreds more victims waited in line merely to schedule appointments with caseworkers. By midmorning, workers were handing out appointments for Tuesday.

Mohammed Rafiq said 23 people were living in his Simi Valley house because the homes of his relatives had been damaged.

“The wall fell off and everything inside is broken,” he said of one of his relatives’ houses. “It’s a disaster. We are six, seven families living in one house.”

Later, at the front of the line, Rafiq was told to come back today to begin filling out low-interest loan applications.

Officials said they had served more than 3,100 people at the Simi Valley FEMA center since the earthquake. But spokesman Robert Mullins said it would be eight or nine days until anyone applying for help Sunday receives grant or loan money.

Mullins said applicants could receive up to $2,800 in grants and as much as $20,000 in loans after inspectors process applications.

“It’s not an instantaneous process,” he said. “And there is a backlog.”

Eddie Abuzaid, 35, a U. S. Postal Service worker in Moorpark, had gathered his loan applications and was collecting his family. His mother, father and several other relatives were staying with him and his young son when the earthquake hit. Now they are living between a family van and a car.

“Except me,” Abuzaid said. “I slept in the house, even though it was damaged.”

He was grateful that the rain had spared the city, but was nervous about forecasts for today. “My roof is open where the tiles fell off,” he said. “You can see the light through it.”

In Fillmore, about 325 people were expected to have completed disaster assistance applications by Sunday. Workers there were handing out appointments through Thursday, but they were also able to help some people as they arrived.

Lloyd Fritschle, Fillmore disaster application coordinator for FEMA, said people were able to complete applications in two hours, a dramatic difference from the four, five or even 11-hour waits some victims experienced elsewhere.

Chatsworth residents Bob Medof and Zacary Batsalkin said they waited in line for five hours at a Northridge FEMA center Thursday and were told that they would have to wait another three hours at the Simi Valley center when they drove there.

“We were ready to riot in Northridge,” he said. They drove to Fillmore on Friday and found no waiting and returned Sunday to complete their business.

Red Cross officials there said 55 to 60 residents a night have slept at a shelter at the Memorial Building since the quake, and another 100 people have registered but not yet come to the center.

Another 130 people slept at the Fillmore Middle School gymnasium.

The threat of rain could bring more residents to the shelters in coming days, said Sandro Monteverde, 22, a Red Cross site manager at the Memorial Building shelter.

“If people find their roofs leaking or other problems occur, they could end up here,” he said.

Contributing to this story were Times staff writers Tracy Wilson and Rodney Bosch, and correspondent Jeff McDonald.

How to Help

Ventura County residents who want to help earthquake victims may contact the following agencies:

* The American Red Cross is seeking volunteer nurses and financial donations. Send checks made out to “American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund” to P.O. Box 5850, Ventura, CA 93005. Information: 339-2234.

* The Salvation Army is requesting bottled water, tents, blankets, cots, sleeping bags, packaged food, diapers and toys. Financial donations marked “Earthquake” may be sent to the Salvation Army, 900 W. 9th St., Los Angeles, CA 90015. For credit card donations and assistance, call (800) 725-9005. Items may be delivered to 155 S. Oak St., Ventura. Information: 648-5031.

* Catholic Charities is accepting money, blankets, tarps and plastic, non-perishable food and clothing, including warm jackets and sweaters, at four locations: 789 E. Thompson Blvd., Ventura (643-4694); 402 N. A St., Oxnard (486-2900); 80 E. Hillcrest Drive, Suite 216, Thousand Oaks (496-1113), and 77 1st St., Moorpark (529-0720).

* The Conejo Valley Chamber of Commerce, Lutheran Social Services and the city of Thousand Oaks need bedding, sleeping bags, blankets and sheets, flashlights and batteries, diapers, tents or tarps, personal hygiene items, first aid supplies, bottled water and food for Conejo Valley and Simi Valley residents. Supplies are being collected at 80 E. Hillcrest Drive, Suite 215, Thousand Oaks. Information: 497-6207.

* Food Share Inc., 4156 N. Southbank Road, Oxnard, is accepting bottled water, non-perishable food and money. Information: 647-3944 or 983-7100.