Southern California fires devastate four counties

With fires raging throughout Southern California, CTA members, students and staff banded together with their families and communities to face yet another disaster.

The fires brought with them death, a massive loss of homes and personal belongings, and disruption in the lives of thousands of people.

Numbers were difficult to pinpoint because of school closures due to continuing blazes and cleanup efforts. At press time early reports from California Casualty were that 40 CTA members had filed claims for lost homes and another eight for lost vehicles. Losses for families of students were expected to be much higher, according to Patty Taylor, president of the San Bernardino Teachers Association.

"We are dealing with this exactly the way you would expect teachers to deal with it," said Dianne K. Jones, the CTA Board member representing the San Diego area. Jones, who had been evacuated from her home for two days while the Cedar fire burned through northern San Diego, was out of harm's way when she returned to work at week's end to prepare her classroom for the reopening of school.

"We've heard from a district counselor about how to talk to kids. We've talked to others about medical situations our kids may face when they come back. We will wait for them to return to class, and we'll take it from there," she said.

Jones, like several of her colleagues, heard about the fire early Sunday morning while attending CTA's State Council of Education in Los Angeles. She was able to make it home in time to pack a few belongings before her Scripps Ranch neighborhood was evacuated.

Suzanne Emery, a retired teacher who edits the San Diego Education Association newsletter, lost a trailer, several trees and part of the front porch on her property in Poway, but was otherwise spared.

"The firefighters saved our house. We are so thankful for them. I didn't lose anything I can't replace," she said. Many others she knows were not so lucky.

In the High Desert area, Victor Valley College was turned into an evacuation site for almost 200 fire victims. There, psychology instructor Patti Jennings, a member of the Victor Valley chapter of the Community College Association, was providing mental health services for the Red Cross.

"Right now, the community is really pulling together. People are being unbelievably supportive," Jennings said. "The truth is, people do all right in these situations as long as it's just four or five days. After that, it gets rough."

CTA members who are victims of the fires will be able to avail themselves of disaster relief grants or loans through FACT and deferred loan payments through First Financial. For more information, contact your CTA Regional Resource Center.