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Fire Evacuees Find Center Well Prepared

More than a thousand people living in Oceanside near the border of Camp Pendleton got reverse 911 calls telling them to evacuate. KPBS reporter Alison St John was at the evacuation center.

Fire Evacuees Find Center Well Prepared

(Photo: Fire evacuation center set up at El Camino Real High School. Alison St John/KPBS )

More than a thousand people living in Oceanside near the border of Camp Pendleton got reverse 911 calls telling them to evacuate. KPBS reporter Alison St John was at the evacuation center.

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Many of those who showed up at the Emergency Shelter were seniors from Pilgrim Creek, a senior housing community which backs directly onto Camp Pendleton.

Fay Johnston has lived there for close to 20 years. She has seen a few fires on Camp Pendleton, including the one last week. But this time, she says she was working on her laptop when she noticed it was getting dark. 

Johnstone: And this was like three in the afternoon and I thought oh oh and I look out and this time the smoke was much closer and it was black, really black.

Some of Johnston’s  neighbors described the first smoke that rose from the hills as looking like a black tornado that rose straight up and then veered west towards the ocean.

Police and firemen came door to door to tell residents to evacuate.

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Larry Perondi, Oceanside Superintendent of Schools, says he got a call from the Chief of Police, but after seeing the smoke, he was already preparing to open El Camino High school as an evacuation center.

Perondi: We had it up and ready to go in about an hour, maybe less, 45 minutes. We have 300 cots, medical care for our elderly, food that has been delivered and continues to be delivered 

The scene in the big gymnasium was all too reminiscent of last year. But Perondi and Oceanside’s emergency preparedness crew said at least they were ready this time.

Because of  erratic winds overnight, the evacuees were told they would have to stay till morning.

Alison St John, KPBS news.