Many Areas Are Still Devastated by Quake

* I fear that your article, “For Most Quake Victims, Life Is Back to Normal,” (July 16) is inaccurate and does a significant disservice to the quake-impacted residents of the Los Angeles area. In your article, officials, not directly involved in the daily cleanup from the Northridge earthquake, may feel that state and federal oversight or assistance may no longer be required. Nothing can be further from the truth.

A short drive through Porter Ranch and Chatsworth will show innumerable homes still vacant, with storage containers standing silent vigil in the street, a reminder of the impact of the Northridge earthquake. Most of the area schools, significantly damaged, have yet to start the rebuilding process. The funds allocated for school repair seem hopelessly tied up in a bureaucratic jungle. Granada Hills High School, as an example, still has its auditorium sealed, its athletic courts shattered, and many classrooms cracked and damaged.

I feel that these people who responded to the Times Poll may not have considered the impact of quake damage on their children’s schools, and on their community. Perhaps the poll question was asked with a slant that did not permit such considerations.

With tons of rubble still in the streets, no longer being picked up by the city, who can drive by these remains of once-intact households and claim that life is back to normal?

Please review the perspective of the Times Poll, and let the extensive readership of The Times know that 18 months after the quake, many residents, and entire communities, are still picking up the pieces.

GARY KALYN

Northridge