Fire Victims Find Support

With compassion and credibility, survivors of devastating California brush fires of the past came here Saturday to provide counsel and encouragement to residents from communities still dazed by the fires that erupted six weeks ago.

The first piece of advice was a cold blast of reality: Be ready for a long and sometimes vexing experience unlike any others in your life. For a family or a community, recovering from a fire takes years.

“Long-term recovery means long term,” said Virginia Kimball, who worked for two years to help her community rebuild and recover from the 1993 Altadena fire. “People don’t realize how slow it is.”

Organized by the Los Angeles-based nonprofit group Community Partners, the morning session at Dingeman Elementary School in Scripps Ranch brought homeowners and others who survived the Altadena fire and the Oakland fire of 1991 together with residents of communities struck by the Cedar and Paradise fires.

Similar sessions were held Friday night in Moorpark and Saturday afternoon in Julian. Sessions are planned next Saturday for Lake Arrowhead and San Bernardino.

The goal, said Community Partners President Paul Vandeventer, is to “push forward” the knowledge of residents in Altadena and Oakland about how to organize, how to cajole government, how to deal with issues of insurance and building codes and myriad other topics.

Because brush fires are a fact of life in California, the residents of Scripps Ranch, Crest, Harbison Canyon and other San Diego County communities will be able to return the favor someday by helping residents in places devastated by future fires, Vandeventer said.

“Keep on asking, keep on mobilizing,” said Los Angeles attorney Francis Y. Park, whose firm, Latham & Watkins, is helping fire-beset communities in Southern California on a pro bono basis.

Linda Williams, who helped her canyon neighborhood after the Altadena fire, said she had discovered the secret to dealing with elected officials and public employees.

“You don’t have to take ‘no’ for an answer,” she said. “If there’s a collective problem, there’s a collective solution. I’m a bit defiant about it.”

George Kehrer, whose home was destroyed in the Oakland fire, said he had learned a lesson about insurance companies that offer quick settlements in exchange for waivers of future claims.

“Do not sign a release, do not sign a release, do not sign a release,” he said. “I cannot emphasize that too much. There are many surprises along the way.”

Much of the recovery effort involves government regulations covering building permits, culverts, fire hydrants, debris removal, sandbags, reseeding hillsides and more. And when government is involved, it helps to have a powerful politician on your side, the group was told.

“How high do we have to push?” asked a Crest homeowner, Andy Knutson.

“As high as you can get,” answered Harry Kellogg, a representative of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Community groups in areas hit by the Altadena fire said they seemed to get greater assistance from government after then-President Clinton took an interest.

Although clearing away rubble and rebuilding homes are the most visible tasks facing communities, there also are more subtle problems of emotional turmoil. Residents were advised to consider support groups or, in more pronounced cases, the services of mental health professionals.

“There’s a great deal of anger that our regional resources failed us” by not stopping the fire, Knutson said.

Although attendance was slight, word of the meeting -- and the potential for follow-up sessions on issues such as insurance, contractors and permit applications -- will be spread through Web sites and newsletters that have been established in several neighborhoods hit by the Cedar and Paradise blazes.

“The Scripps Ranch community has set the gold standard for post-fire response,” Vandeventer said.

For many residents, asking for help is the first -- and hardest -- step. Community groups can be invaluable in spreading the word about what assistance is available from the government and the private sector, the group was told.

“We consider ourselves independent types,” said burned-out homeowner Tom Wescott, who attended with his wife, Vi. “But we’re beginning to realize we do need help.”