Californians Get Small Breather As Fires Rage And Death Toll Rises

Rancho Cucamonga, CALIF. — Southern Californians battered by fires that left $1 billion in damages and at least three dead seemed to be getting a small, limited “breather” today.

Literally. It was a day when some kids could start to go out and play and some Southern Californians could go home — if their homes were still there.

At a school in this San Bernardino city next to the San Gabriel mountains, I was doing some anti-drug programs when a school official made an announcement that suggested a key shift out of crisis mode: Kids were told that today, unlike yesterday, they would be allowed to go outside during recess unless they had long term or smoke-related respiratory problems. Most students went out and about 10 who were sensitive to lingering air particles stayed in the multi-purpose room.

Meanwhile, in San Diego, the scene of the worst part of the fires that have caused some 900,000 Southern Californians to evacuate their homes, the Interstate 5 near Marine Base Camp Pendleton was reportedly open again…which mean the I-5 and the I-15, two of the key north-south paths to the city, were open once more.

And San Diego had a major visitor:

President Bush got a bird’s eye look at the devastation wrought by wildfires this afternoon as he took an aerial tour of scorched Southern California.

“I fully understand that the people have got a lot of anguish in their hearts,” Bush said before lifting off. “They just need to know a lot of folks care about them.”

Bush, who arrived aboard Air Force One at Marine Corps Air Station-Miramar about 12:30 p.m., could be seen rolling up his shirt sleeves before joining Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and embarking on a chopper tour over a devastated area that’s twice the size of New York City.

“We have some incredibly brave citizens who are risking their lives to protect people and property in California and we owe a great debt of gratitude to our nation’s firefighters,” Bush said.

Was the “breather” the school kids got an omen? Perhaps. Because on the day when Bush visited San Diego he — and San Diegans — got some good news: some of the key fires were being contained due to plummeting Santa Ana temperatures and slower winds. Was (this part of) the nightmare that hit from Malibu to San Diego on the wane?

There was bad news: two bodies found in a house in Poway, in Northern San Diego County, were believed to be fire victims.

But the overall news was — for the first time since Sunday — hopeful:

As hot winds cooled and slowed and flames died down, most of the 500,000 people who took part in California’s largest evacuation were on their way home, officials said. About 2,000 homes have been destroyed or damaged since Sunday.

San Diego, which calls itself “The World’s Finest City” but had become “The World’s Most Fiery County,” was reported be close to trying to get back normal during a time when school kids were still out from school and businessmen reported that business was essentially flat and/or in suspended animation:

San Diego hopes to start getting its tourism/convention business back to normal in the next few days after being hit hard by the Southern California wildfires.

Major attractions plan to reopen today or over the weekend and some of the evacuees who packed city hotels are heading home, freeing up hotel rooms, as the fires’ threat to various neighborhoods diminishes.

While some attractions remain closed, the city’s “downtown core, hotels, restaurants, San Diego Zoo, Port and waterfront, along with the airport, are open for business and not directly impacted by fires in the region,” said David Peckinpaugh, president of the San Diego Convention and Visitors Bureau in a statement issued to meeting planners.

Putting the firestorms in perspective, NBC correspondent Martin Savidge wrote that the fires and Hurricane Katrina were as different as fire and water:

You cannot compare these disasters. They are as different as water and fire. The loss of 1,300 homes in Southern California so far is awful, but pales to homes and business lost to Katrina. In St. Bernard Parish alone they lost almost five times as many. We aren’t even touching New Orleans or the often overlooked Mississippi coast.

Much of Louisiana’s infrastructure was compromised or destroyed. In California much of it was left intact. They could talk on phones to coordinate relief in California. They could barely find a radio to call for help after Katrina.

Qualcomm Stadium where thousands sheltered was never threatened. The Superdome was heavily damaged. It had twice to three times as many people and no electricity, no ventilation, not much food, limited security, no water, no sanitation and absolutely no information.

Then there was the loss of life.

Don’t compare these disasters; that would be grossly unfair to the people of California and Louisiana.

The biggest concern is that many will – and then say, “See we have learned from Katrina and fixed what failed.” If leaders believe that, then that really will be a disaster.

In other words: given the extreme nature of weather and natural disasters these days, the real tests may be down the road.