SAN DIEGO — San Diegans impacted by last month's Montezuma fire had a chance to question, and also congratulate the firefighters who helped bring it under control.
Dozens of residents from Talmadge, the College Area and surrounding communities, all impacted by the Montezuma Fire on October 31, came together for a special forum with San Diego Fire-Rescue.
Weeks after the fire forced hundreds of residents to evacuate their homes , many of those residents still have concerns over how that fire started, and how to protect themselves against future fires.
At Thursday's gathering, residents gave a standing ovation to the firefighters who helped battle and contain the Montezuma fire so quickly.
In the end, about 40 acres were burned and six homes damaged, one beyond repair, belonging to 90-year-old Elaine Boland, who was honored at Thursday night's forum.
Residents also came armed with concerns and questions, from the evacuations to what caused the fire to clearing out brush in nearby canyons.
"The city has known about this for a long time and there's a big bunch of brush that should have been cleaned out a long time ago and it's full of homeless encampments," said El Cerrito resident Dave Nicolai.
Assistant Fire Chief Dan Eddy said that, while the fire started either in or near an encampment, the cause still remains under investigation.
"It's a concern absolutely but there are multiple issues dealing with whose land it is," he added, "whether it is the city of San Diego's, private property, federal property, Fish and Game. If it is the city of San Diego, we're going to do everything we can to clear that land."
Eddy also strongly urged residents to create defensible space around their homes, removing combustible items.
"We see people that have trash cans piled up around their house, furniture piled," he said. "If you can move that away just 5 feet, it is amazing what it can do to stop a fire from starting at your house."
Residents also shared stories about the difficulty of trying to evacuate the Montezuma fire.
College Area resident Jean Hoeger questioned why SDSU did not opt to cancel classes to alleviate congestion on the roadways as residents were trying to get out.
"San Diego State needs to think about what they're going to do next time," she said.
In a statement, SDSU pointed out they they were never under an evacuation order or warning, and worked under city protocol, adding "Had we evacuated campus, this would have contributed further to congestion and may have hampered emergency response efforts. "
Assistant Chief Eddy also urged residents to heed all evacuation orders, in any fire situation, as soon as they are issued.
:If you don't, we have to come back and get you," he said, "so if we do ask you to go, go right away."
Here is SDSU's full statement:
Related to the brush fire on Oct. 31, SDSU was designated a relocation area for Hardy Elementary School, as the school was being evacuated.
We understand there are questions as to why the university did not cancel classes and why the university did not evacuate students, faculty and staff who were on campus. It is important to underscore that SDSU was never under an evacuation order or an evacuation warning and worked in compliance with city protocol. Had we evacuated campus, this would have contributed further to congestion and may have hampered emergency response efforts.
Also, there has been some misinformation shared about what the university communicated to the campus. The university shared with students, faculty and staff via emergency notifications to avoid impacted areas and expect delays. Several specific road closures were confirmed by city and fire personnel, which we communicated with our campus community. We shared confirmed information, to include information that specific roads that were confirmed to have been impacted by the brush fire were: Aldine Dr. at Fairmount Ave., Fairmount Ave. at Montezuma Rd., and Montezuma Rd. at 55th St. Thus, we urged those traveling to SDSU to avoid those areas and to, instead, take I-8 and exit College Avenue. You can view a log of all emergency notifications shared on our Urgent.sdsu.edu site.
Separately, and following the brush on Oct. 31, there was an isolated shooting on campus (no students, faculty or staff were involved). Knowing that such an incident was alarming and unsettling, the university did choose to cancel classes and activities, to include the Aztec Nights event, for the remainder of that day, allowing everyone space to process and recover following the shooting. The university also set up additional counseling and food service for our students that evening.