Evacuations reminiscent of 2003 Cedar Fire
By: ADAM KAYE - Staff Writer | ∞
About 600 to 700 people who were evacuated because of the Witch Creek fire were at Escondido High School at 9:00am on Monday.
DON BOOMER Staff Photographer
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DEL MAR ---- As thousands of people sought refuge Monday from wildfires blackening the backcountry, many of their horses found safety at the Del Mar Fairgrounds. 
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Throughout the morning, horse owners arrived at the fairgrounds' stable gate to unload their animals, with horse trailers lined up for more than half a mile along palm-studded Jimmy Durante Boulevard.
By 3 p.m., nearly 2,000 horses were stabled at the fairgrounds, spokeswoman Kina Paegert said.
Terri Rocovich was one of many horse owners who had spent a sleepless night evacuating animals. She had nearly 20 horses to transport to the fairgrounds from Rocking Horse Equine Care Center in Ramona and another ranch in Poway.
That meant asking help from friends and family and having to leave some horses behind because eastbound routes were closed.
"We hope they're not burned to a crisp when we get back," Rocovich said.
She said her sister and niece, Kate and Christi Sulzbach, drove four hours with their trailer from Santa Barbara to help move the animals.
Even as Rocovich unhitched her trailer, she responded to another equestrian's plea for help.
A woman driving a Lexus SUV said her horses in Fairbanks Ranch were in danger.
"Can I get someone to follow me to pick up some horses?" she asked. "I've got some in a barn."
"Let's go!" Rocovich said.
As horse owners and their animals settled into their emergency quarters, officials realized food and bedding were in short supply. A fairgrounds official said those materials were on order and donations would be gladly accepted.
More than horses evacuated
Horses weren't the only large animals being housed at Del Mar. Some llamas and even some zebras had found a safe haven at the seaside fairgrounds, Paegert said.
But space for more large animals was running out, she said, and residents from East County were being asked to bring their animals to the fairgrounds in El Centro.
"If you're already east, keep going east," she said.
Murrieta resident Lori Page has offered to board horses on her three-acre property, which she said is fenced to keep the animals. She can be reached at (951) 440-8393.
The Del Mar Fairgrounds served as a horse evacuation center during the Paradise and Cedar fires of 2003.
By Monday afternoon, the state-owned facility had opened as an evacuation center for people, as well as animals.
Residents who sought shelter at the fairgrounds made themselves as comfortable as possible in a cavernous exhibit hall. Families gathered around folding tables and sat in plastic chairs, their dogs at their feet and cats nearby in cages.
Monica Levy, 15, wrote in her diary and scratched the head of her Australian shepherd, Ellie. On the table next to her were two bunnies, Honey and Sparkles, and in another building on the fairgrounds were the rest of her family.
Monica said family members were taking turns watching the animals.
The Torrey Pines High School 10th grader said she had no idea what was happening at her home on Sun Valley Road east of Solana Beach, and she didn't seem overly concerned.
"It's just stuff," she said. "I have my parents, I have my animals, we're all safe."
Contact staff writer Adam Kaye at (760) 901-4074 or akaye@nctimes.com.
Evacuation Shelters
Information about the shelters the San Diego Chapter of the American Red Cross is providing for wildfire evacuees is available at http://www.sdarc.org or by calling the chapter's main number at (858) 309-1200.
Evacuation preparation tips
Tips for what to do before, during and after a wildfire are available at www.wildfirezone.org, a web site developed by the Farm and Home Advisor's Office of the University of California Cooperative Extension and the County of San Diego.
Recommendations for evacuations include:
Essential items to remember to take with you include:
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