SAN DIEGO — Despite widespread estimates that as many as 1 million evacuees fled Southern California’s wildfires, the number of people displaced from their homes at any one time appears to have been substantially lower.
At the height of evacuations in San Diego on Tuesday morning, officials said that nearly 350,000 households had been warned to evacuate through automated emergency phone calls. Using 2000 census data, emergency response officials estimated they had ordered 513,000 people out of their homes and advised another 12,000 people to leave.
Within hours, however, some of those evacuations were lifted. More San Diego residents were ordered to leave Wednesday, but by then, an unknown number of earlier evacuees already were back home.
That pattern is one of several reasons why the widely publicized estimates of evacuation numbers are probably exaggerated.
Another reason is that not everyone obeyed evacuation orders.
Authorities cannot force people from their homes, although they can prevent them from returning once they do leave. Official counts of evacuees are guesses based on population data.
On Monday, sheriff’s patrol cars drove down High Sierra Trail in Saugus in northern Los Angeles County blaring mandatory evacuation orders. Within minutes, many residents said they planned to stay.
“It’s better now than it was last night,” said Beth Kray. The fire, she said, “was on the ridge right behind. We couldn’t get a wink of sleep.”
San Diego’s Scripps Ranch development was another place where fire-tested residents weighed their options. Some streets emptied nearly completely, with residents clogging traffic as just a few die hards remained guarding their homes. On other blocks, as many as half the residents stayed, according to neighbors. Four years ago, hundreds of homes in the development were lost in the Cedar Fire.
“In 2003, we saw our house burning on television,” said Paul Devincenzo, who stayed overnight at another home he owns in the city. He returned to Scripps Ranch on Tuesday afternoon. “This time we evacuated with mixed feelings. You know the danger of staying behind, but you also want to stay and do something to save your house.”
In addition to the San Diego evacuations, Orange County ordered 43,000 residents from their homes. In Los Angeles County, Sheriff Lee Baca said a total of 21,500 residents were told to evacuate. In San Bernardino County, officials ordered another 15,000 to leave their homes.
At the peak of evacuations, 27,000 people had checked into publicly run shelters, including Qualcomm Stadium, according to emergency operations officials. With about 10,000 available hotel rooms in the city and county, evacuees quickly filled them while others pitched tents in parking lots or slept in their cars. Many other residents were able to stay with nearby friends or family.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
