Authorities reported that the Valley Fire has burned more than 17,000 acres in the three days since it started Saturday and as of Tuesday morning was only 3% contained.
Evacuation orders have been issued for Barrett Lake Dam, Corte Madera; South Pine Valley; areas west of Japatul and Lyons Valley Road intersection; State Route 94/Moreno Valley Rd and Lyons Valley Road; areas near Morena reservoir; and Carveacre.
Evacuation centers have been established at Steele Canyon High School, 12440 Campo Road in Spring Valley and Joan MacQueen Middle School, 2001 Tavern Road in Alpine.
About 20 families had passed through the gymnasium Saturday night at Joan MacQueen Middle School, a makeshift evacuation center and waypoint between the Valley Fire and hotel rooms.
The fire, which broke out mid-afternoon, consumed 1,500 acres of vegetation and beared down on the community of Carveacre.
American Red Cross Senior Disaster Program Manager Dave Maloney was on site along with his team to learn more about each family or individual’s needs before finding them lodging for the night at local hotel rooms.
“We’re partnered with San Diego County Office of Emergency Services,
finding safe places for people to gather. Right now, the indication is evacuations are going to continue overnight. As soon as we can, we’re getting people into hotels,” Maloney said.
Maloney said they contracted with local hotels months ago to ensure at least 100 rooms would be available for possible evacuation in the age of COVID-19.
“In addition to contracting with hotels nearby like El Cajon and La
Mesa, we also are working to supply vouchers for food in the morning,” Maloney said.
San Diego County Animal Services also had a representative on hand to
help evacuees traveling with animals.
Danielle Belliveau sat in the parking lot with two half-wolves inside
the cab of her truck while hoping to hear where she might spend the
night; two horses in the attached trailer awaited a drive to safety to a ranch near Lake Jennings.
“My defensible space is done, and I hooked up the trailer but the horses weren’t cooperating, so it took some time to get down here,” Belliveau said.
Belliveau added it was proving hard to secure a place to stay for the
night with her animals but spending the night in her truck was not out of the question.
This story was updated at 9:30 a.m. Sept. 8.
