San Diego County
Of all the fires, the two biggest were located in San Diego County. The largest,
the Witch (Creek) Fire, burned areas north and northeast of San Diego....Evacuation
sites included Qualcomm Stadium, as well as many schools, civic centers, and
churches throughout the area. Nearly all public schools and universities in
the San Diego area were closed, including many businesses.
Officials estimated that 12,000 evacuees gathered at Qualcomm Stadium. American Red Cross volunteers provided food, blankets, water, children's toys, massages, and a live rock band performance for those at the stadium.* Squads from 40th MP Company walked through crowds, providing a show of presence and keeping the peace. During the day when there were many volunteers and activities planned, the stadium remained relatively calm. However, [40th] Military Police said things changed a little at night and they increased their [roving] patrols, especially in the stadium parking lot.
Medics also assisted at Qualcomm, including Sgt. Myesha Britt, of San Bernandino who has been a medic for five years and is the medical noncommissioned officer in charge of the 40th Military Police Company. She said she was happy to be called to duty for her community.
“As a person, I like to help people. I do my best to try and help at
home, to volunteer if I can,” Britt said. “It inspired me, seeing
all the people here helping. Anyway that I could help, whether it’s helping
people move stuff or if I could save a life, it would do me some good morally.**
* From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_wildfires_of_October_2007
** Troops’ Response – “Better Than Any
Drill.” Article by Staff
Sgt. Jessica Inigo, 40th Infantry Brigade Combat Team Public Affairs Office:
http://www.calguard.ca.gov/publicaffairs/Pages/TroopsResponse.aspx
 Harris Fire burns on Mount San Miguel the morning of October 23, 2007. Photo by Wikipedia |
 The remains of a home destroyed by the Witch Fire. Photo by Wikipedia |
The October 2007 California wildfires were a series of wildfires that began burning across Southern California on October 20. Major contributing factors to the extreme fire conditions were drought in Southern California, hot weather, and unusually strong Santa Ana winds with gusts reaching 85 mph. At least 1,500 homes were destroyed and over 500,000 acres of land burned from Santa Barbara County to the U.S.-Mexico border. Nine people died as a direct result of the fires; 85 others were injured, including at least 61 firefighters.
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency in seven California counties where fires were burning. President George W. Bush concurred, and ordered federal aid to supplement state and local response efforts.Over 6,000 firefighters worked to fight the blazes; they were aided by units of the United States Armed Forces, approximately 1,500 California National
