Platform : ‘A Lot of People Are Ignoring Small Quakes’

How are Southern California residents affected by the Northridge earthquake faring in the wake of the 5.3 aftershock that struck March 20? Here are some impressions from people responsible for restoring services .

FRANCIS MILLER

Southern California Gas Co., senior appliance representative, San Fernando Valley

I have people stopping me on the streets and in restaurants--I do mainly restaurant repair--and comment how great the service was, how quick our response time was. Some of the apartment dwellers who moved out of apartments that were damaged were just scared to go back, even though they were green-tagged. I encountered a lot of people moving into apartments deserted by previous tenants. Or ones that have moved into other ones thinking they were in better shape than the ones left behind. Well, some of it, I think, is a bit silly. They might not be any better off than where they were. In fact, a lot of people are ignoring the small earthquakes. They figure it’s not building to another big one, it’s just a roll-out from the last one. One thing that will always stay in my memory was doing a deli in Sepulveda. I got them back on within about three days. The owner of the restaurant told all the regular customers about it. I happened to go in there about a week later and got a standing ovation from the clientele. It was a real nice feeling.

MARK SMITH

Pacific Bell services technician; covers Van Nuys to West San Fernando Valley

The real challenge was trying to accommodate all the people that moved right after the quake. To get their service moved from one location to another. My impression of how things are right now is that people are still definitely jittery and displaced. A lot of people are moving away from the Valley to Thousand Oaks, Agoura and Westlake. But people seem to be managing pretty well, I think, on the whole. Everybody has their story to tell, no matter where you go, and I see eight to 10 customers per day. People want to talk about it, though--they want to get it off their chests. The people that are from here, who were born and raised in L.A.--they’re getting over it real well. But I had a repair case in Canoga Park where a family would not go back in their apartment--and this was probably a month afterward. And when I went in the apartment, it was in the same condition it was right after the quake. The fish tank was broken and all over the floor, and the furniture was in a jumble and the china cabinet had fallen over and broken. They went in when I went in to disconnect their service, then they went right back out again.

ROBERT FICKETT

Los Angeles Fire Department captain whose station in Northridge was destroyed by the quake but will be rebuilt.

Despair. Uncertainty. It’s a funny thing. We are still encountering people who don’t want to go back into their homes. They’re living in travel trailers, mobile homes. On a day-to-day basis, it’s everything as usual. At night, they do not go back into their homes. It’s surprising.

Oh, I think it’ll recover. There’s a lot of support from the community, different organizations and the City Council.

A lot of people are not in a position to say, “Hey, we have to get out of here.” I mean, their work, their family, the kids are in school--it’s all local. They can’t move from this particular area. There is a lot of the feeling, too, about “Where are we going to start over?” or “How can we start over?”

SEAN MEADE

Los Angeles Police officer on force for four months, Devonshire Division, Northridge

The call loads are back up to normal. We’re back into effective enforcement of traffic, domestic violence. When you actually get a chance to talk to the citizens, most of them are relaxed. A lot of them are beginning to get through the rebuilding, waiting for the emergency aid to come through. A lot have prepared themselves, made emergency kits and are rethinking some of the design of their homes. I remember, right after the earthquake at Northridge Junior High, a lot of people were camping out in the football field. I remember the kids being more fascinated with our presence than normal. We’d show up and they’d wave, but they’re not quite as clingy and as interested in our presence as before. Obviously, to them during the quake, we were a sign of safety. And now that they feel safe again, we’re just the police again.

KEVIN SHOST

Field investigator, Department of Water and Power, San Fernando Valley

There is still a lot of stress and confusion, especially among older customers. They really need sympathy and they deserve it. And they need to see people from DWP, the gas company, FEMA, someone out there. In addition to everything else, they’re getting water bills that are much higher than normal. We’re writing off everything that’s higher than normal for these people. There was a lady two days ago in Reseda who came to the door. Apparently the whole neighborhood had been hit pretty bad. She lived alone. She was over 70. She seemed OK when I started talking to her, but half-way through the conversation, she started crying. She just broke down. And it caught me by surprise, because she seemed fine. All of a sudden, you could just tell that it just hit her at once. I felt sorry for her. That’s the kind of thing I see a lot. People aren’t crying a lot, but you can tell they’re just frustrated. There’s so much damage.