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Fires char houses, not spirits
By: North County Times Opinion staff | ∞
Our view: Fire reveals county's great strengths
After the Cedar and Paradise fires of 2003, officials remarked that, together, the two blazes were a "Hundred Years' " fire, a devastating, once-in-a-lifetime event ---- like a "Hundred Years' " flood ---- the likes of which we'd probably never see again.
Guess they were wrong.
Only four years later (almost to the day), residents of the county are reliving the frightful experience. Ignore your calendar, and a few of the particulars, and the two events are playing out very much the same: smoke- and ash-filled skies, mass evacuations of both man and beast, instinctive fear, burning homes, destroyed lives.
After the 2003 fires, governments in the county reviewed their response to that event and realized that much more needed to be done to prepare for future conflagrations.
In particular, the county, which is responsible for the vast eastern parts of the county where these massive fires usually begin, took a number of significant steps that gave us new tools such as firefighting helicopters and the reverse 911 system, among others.
It's too early to tell whether the actions taken by the county and other government agencies in the three years since the last conflagration made a difference this time around. We'll leave that analysis for the days and weeks to come.
What we can say without reservation is that the response to the fires by regular folk has, once again, been remarkable.
Aside from the heroic acts of bravery that have been performed by fire fighters, law enforcement and untold good Samaritans, there's something admirable about the way that we as a region handle tragedy.
It's hard not to draw comparisons between the chaos at the Superdome in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and the scene at our own Qualcomm last night where refugees were treated to rock 'n' roll bands, lavish buffets and massage therapists.
That difference says something about the health of San Diego's civic life; a life in which private charities and businesses step in to fill the gaps left by the government and people spontaneously mount impressive volunteer efforts with little or no government direction.
The philosopher Edmund Burke referred to these as the "little platoons" that make civilization possible. They are just as important to a functioning society during disasters as platoons of firetrucks, police and National Guardsmen. We are lucky to have these platoons in abundance.
And it's not too late to join one, if you haven't already. The county of San Diego lists many reputable disaster relief organizations on its Web site, www.sdcountyemergency.com.
There's a regional cliche that asserts "No bad days." It's a pleasant but unrealistic coda. Of course we will have bad days, and the last several have been as bad as they get; but we will not let the few bad days dampen our love for this charmed place that we call home.
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Oceanside was lucky wrote on Oct 23, 2007 9:59 PM:and opened its arms to many who weren't. The parking lots at the beach and several shopping centers including Wal Mart and Ralphs had many travel trailers and motor homes parked with the blessing of the city. New Song Church opened its church to those who needed a place to go and our city was ready to help every one. I am so proud of our city.
Oceanside was lucky wrote on Oct 23, 2007 10:00 PM:and opened its arms to many who weren't. The parking lots at the beach and several shopping centers including Wal Mart and Ralphs had many travel trailers and motor homes parked with the blessing of the city. New Song Church opened its church to those who needed a place to go and our city was ready to help every one. I saw several Oceanside fire units on tv all over the county. I am so proud of our city.
Too optimistic wrote on Oct 23, 2007 10:55 PM:Sorry but this 'all is well' 'aren't we terrific' editorial is missing the rest of the equation. If the cities and county would stop issuing permits for high fire areas (think Stonegate as another stupid plan in the making) and would insist on fire/drought resistant landscaping plus well trimmed trees and large defensible spaces, AND required 2 ways in and out plus having alternative evacuation routes BEFORE they approved plans, many of these homes probably would have never been built or if they were, they may have been saved. When are our supervisors and councilmembers going to wise up? STOP building in canyons, on ridges, in dense brush, etc. Any loss of life and property is directly on YOU. Our safety personnel aren't miracle makers here just heroes cleaning up your mess.
Pat in Vista wrote on Oct 23, 2007 11:01 PM:Oh please. Katrina nailed the entire city of New Orleans AND the entire region. Our disaster's severe--maybe even AS severe. But it's different. There are large regions of the city and county that are relatively safe and functioning and provide safe refuge and a place to organize a response. I'm proud of the local response. But don't piss on the folks who got flooded out and abandoned to make the laudable response locally look even more heroic. That's simply disgusting. The churches that have opened their doors have done great. In N.O. they were flooded out.
Angelica wrote on Oct 23, 2007 11:28 PM:I must say that i am so proud to say that i am a californian and a san diegan at that matter this is the best city and i have never seen people pull together rso fast no matter what race age or gender, we pull together and stand united in front of the problems that mother nature has brought against us our spirits are only hurt but not broken.. together we stand and well never fall!
It is not too early, wrote on Oct 24, 2007 8:01 AM:It is not too early to start talking about the County's lack of building controls in high fire risk areas. This coupled with the lack of fire prevention programs has set the stage for the devastation we are seeing. Maybe it is time to discuss the options to unfettered residential growth in rural San Diego County.
The Big Difference wrote on Oct 25, 2007 2:14 AM:between S.D. and New Orleans is this. We are a town of "givers" not a town of "takers". We are for the most part "not" dependent upon Government or Government programs for our existence.
Yes, wrote on Oct 25, 2007 5:19 AM:let's see what happens next. Will our citzens take the free ATM cards and buy the jewelry and alchol and junk that was the billions of dollars wasted after Katrina. I DON"T think so! And I also think our leadership will respond much better then the leaders dealing with Katrina. They have consistently handled the problems as they came up with speed and efficency without the blame game. I am very proud of them and very proud to be from San Diego.
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