Some Highland Residents Voluntarily Evacuate
As wind-whipped flames crept closer to the valley, hundreds of East Highlands Ranch residents were asked to voluntarily evacuate Tuesday.
Residents east of Highway 330, north of Highland Avenue and west of Weaver Street were told to make preparations in case the roaring Santa Ana winds changed direction and flames rushed down the mountain toward their homes.
“We’re going to watch what the winds do,” said Mary Stock, battalion chief for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection’s Highland station.
“If the winds don’t pick up and we get the marine layer coming in, that will change things so we don’t need to have mandatory evacuations,” Stock said. “As long as the winds aren’t pushing from Running Springs into Highland, we’re feeling pretty good.”
Homeowners received calls Tuesday from a reverse 911 emergency message system advising them to prepare to leave the area.
San Bernardino County sheriff’s deputies patrolled the community, offering residents a strong recommendation to pack up their belongings and go.
“Do you recommend that we leave?” one resident asked a deputy.
“If I lived here with my wife and kids, I would go,” he replied.
One woman arrived at the fire station and asked what she should do.
“As soon as it comes over that ridge, it will probably become a mandatory evacuation,” a firefighter said, pointing to a smoke-choked hill in the distance. “Now’s the time to get your stuff together and get ready.”
Homeowners experienced a similar concern four years ago when the Old Fire came close to East Highlands Ranch, a master-planned community of two-story homes selling for $500,000 and up.
“We went through this in the Old Fire,” said Valerie Parmenter, a 56-year-old Evans Lane resident who lived in another part of the community four years ago. “We were evacuated. It was an emotional trauma and it was nerve-racking. We stood there and waited to see if our house was going to survive.”
Parmenter stood in her driveway with her husband, Dennis.
The couple loaded everything into their car: important papers, photo albums, memorabilia, videotapes, jewelry and a couple days’ worth of clothes.
Dennis Parmenter, 54, said he felt better knowing that the homes in East Highlands Ranch, which are less than 10 years old, were built with fire-resistant materials such as concrete or terrazzo tile roofs. He also said there are many fire hydrants and roads throughout the community to provide access for fire crews.
However, his wife was concerned about limited resources affecting firefighters’ ability to get a handle on the blaze quickly.
“The scary part is they could certainly stop it if there were people to stop it, but nobody’s available,” Valerie Parmenter said. “It’s nobody fault. There’s just so many fires burning. Unfortunately, there’s going to be a lot more homes burning because of that.”
Bob Logan, who lives next door, pointed to the ominous cloud of smoke to the north and said he was staying put -- for now.
“I’ve got a water pump and a pool,” Logan said. “I’m good for 20,000 gallons, then I’m gone.”
On a nearby block, Richard Resendez was taping cardboard boxes together in case his family had to leave.
“If we need to, we’ll throw our stuff in the truck quickly and get out of here,” Resendez said, who is married with two children, ages 2 and 9.
Resendez and his wife, Lynette, said they would take pictures, clothes, insurance papers, tax records and their computer.
“And I’ve got to have my gym clothes,” Lynette said.
She said the family would stay with relatives in Bakersfield or camp in their fifth-wheel trailer if necessary.
“You feel sorry for people who didn’t have a chance to get their things,” Lynette said. “I think it might be a little premature to leave, but it’s better than having no warning at all. We’ll be all right because we had plenty of time to get out.”
-- Stephen Wall