johnnypecayo wrote:

To my dear Friends:

Some of our kababayans (countrymen) in the greater San Diego area have been affected by the recent and on-going wildfires, and many of them have been evacuated to safe areas.

Because of this tragedy, it is time once again that we put our acts together, like what we did when the racial slur was committed by ABC-TV's September 30 episode of the highly controversial Desperate Housewives" against the Filipino and the Philippines, to provide assistance -- physically, morally and financially -- to obviate further sufferings of our kababayans from their present precarious situation.

Magtulungan po at sama-sama tayo! (Let's help one another, and let's be together in this endeavor!)

Marami pong salamat (Thank you very much),

JOHNNY M. PECAYO, MBA
Publisher and Editor-in-Chief, MANILA-U.S. TIMES; and
Chairman and CEO, Pilipino American Media Center (PAMC)

Update:

As of today, October 25, 444,291 acreage has been burned; 1,609 homes destroyed; 1,839 structures totally damaged; and 64 people (36 firefighters, and 28 civilians) have been injured. About one million residents of San Diego have been evacuated or voluntarily evacuated to safe places. -- PAMC

From the Philippine Consulate General in L.A.

In light of the ongoing fire that has struck seven counties in Southem Califomia, the Philippine Consulate General in Los Angeles has opened an emergency line for Filipino nationals who are affected and needs assistance. Filipino nationals affected by the "fire storm" may call (213) 268-9990.

A consular team headed by Vice Consul Jim Tito San Agustin will be going toSan Diego tomorrow to visit the evacuation sites thereat and assist the Filipino nationals affected by this disastrous fire. They will also meet with some officials to coordinate evacuation.

Filipino organizations arercencouraged to contribute in any way they can to help alleviate those affected by the ongoing tragedy.

Vice Consul Edward Yulo coordinates the Disaster Relief Response.

*****

Focus on recovery, Bush tells fire victims

The president pledges more federal help to fight the remaining nine blazes, house the evacuees and rebuild communities. 'We're not going to forget you,' he says.
By Tony Perry and Ari B. Bloomekatz, Los Angeles Times Staff Writers October 25, 2007

PRESIDENT BUSH (infront) tours the devastation in Rancho Bernardo in San Diego county. -- L.A. Times photo

SAN DIEGO, CA -- After touring one partially gutted neighborhood in the path of Southern California's firestorms, President Bush noted "a lot of people are suffering," but urged those affected by the catastrophe to begin turning their attention to recovery.

Speaking at an Escondido fire command center, Bush pledged additional federal help to fight the nine blazes still burning across the region, as well as an infusion of funds to help victims and communities rebuild.

"We're not going to forget you in Washington, D.C.," he said.

The newly released federal aid will cover temporary housing, cleanup and other immediate needs. In addition, loans will be offered to qualified residents and businesses to help them rebuild.

Earlier, Bush took a half-hour aerial tour over Rancho Bernardo. The tour offered a sweeping view of fire-ravaged Southern California, including vast blackened hills and a tiled-roof mansion spared on top of a hill.

The president stopped for 10 minutes at the burned home of Jay and Kendra Jeffcoat in Rancho Bernardo. Little remained but a spiral staircase and a piece of wall bearing the turquoise-and-pink tile giving the address. Other nearby homes also had been burned, but across the street a two-story, tile-and-stucco home appeared unscathed.

The president sidestepped questions about comparisons between the wildfires and Hurricane Katrina, which remains a sore point for the administration because of a much-criticized relief effort. "There's all kinds of time for historians to compare," he said.

Tears streamed from the eyes of Kimber Fowler, 20, when she spoke with Bush at a Rancho Bernardo victim service center.

"I was just going to shake his hand, and he gave me a hug, and I just fell apart because it made it real," said Fowler, whose home nearby burned down.

Fran Townsend, assistant to the president for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism, said at least 2,205 structures had been counted as lost so far in the fires, about half the total of the 2003 Southern California firestorms that lasted 10 days. The fires this year have consumed far more acreage, however.

Also today, the reward fund reached $150,000 for information leading to the conviction of the arsonist responsible for the Santiago fire in Orange County, which has burned nearly 20,000 acres and destroyed 21 structures, including nine homes. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the FBI and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger each kicked in $50,000.

"The person or people who did this are exceptionally lucky or they have some knowledge of when they can do the most damage when you set a fire," Orange County Fire Authority Chief Chip Prather said at a news conference.

The death toll from the fires appeared to be rising as well.

Two bodies were found in the charred remains of a home in Escondido; authorities had mistakenly reported earlier that the home was in Poway. The victims apparently had been warned to evacuate but refused, said Jan Caldwell, spokeswoman for the San Diego County Sheriff's Department. The bodies were tentatively identified as those of a man and a woman, but no names had been released.

One other death has been officially attributed to the fires; 10 others have been linked to them. Sixty-four people have been injured.

State officials said that as of early today there were still 22,195 people in 51 shelters, with the bulk -- 18,154 -- in San Diego County. The American Red Cross is operating 24 of those shelters, with 6,000 people in them.

The crowd at one of the biggest evacuation centers, San Diego's Qualcomm Stadium, was dwindling today as more evacuation orders were lifted. At dawn, officials estimated that fewer than 1,000 people remained, down from about 12,000.

As the stadium begins to empty out and more people try to figure out what comes next, the service center will be there to help, said center director Debra Fischle Faulk. "People are going to need help finding temporary housing, and we're trying to get a list countywide, and also hotel vacancies."

Laura Montelongo contemplated the uncertainty of her situation as she smoked a cigarette this morning outside the Steele Canyon High School evacuation center in southern San Diego County.

A hill in front of the high school was burned over but also dotted with homes that had somehow survived the onslaught of the 73,000-acre Harris fire.

A FIRETRUCK AND A FIREMAN, with a ball of fire providing as a backdrop. -- L.A. Times photo

BRYAN BRADWAY of San Diego county's Damage Assessment Team inspecting the area. -- L.A. Times' photo