With wildfires blazing throughout Southern California, PCC students, faculty and staff continue to experience the devastating effects.For Leilani Roberts, PCC police department senior dispatcher, the wildfires hit close to home.
“You could just see a huge wall of flames and you knew it was close,” said Roberts. “The whole western part of my town was evacuated.”
A resident of Canyon Country, Roberts’ home was about a quarter mile from the wildfires. She and her family were not required to evacuate, but the school district in the area was closed and three high schools were used as evacuation centers on Tuesday, she added.
Along with “horrendous” smoke, Roberts recalled law enforcement being stretched thin citywide as they made efforts to evacuate the western half of Canyon Country.
Although the closest fire to PCC, contained as of Wednesday, was over 30 miles away in Ontario, the wildfires left its mark on campus.
The smell of smoke has surrounded the campus and an amber hue has lit up the sky since Monday. However, students, faculty and staff were most affected by the ash particles polluting the air.
“It’s hard to breathe and it’s uncomfortable to sit around and wait for class,” said student Tanya Alcaraz, 18.
PCC’s athletic division felt repercussions from the wild fires on Tuesday with the postponement of the men’s and women’s soccer team matches at Long Beach City College due to poor air quality. Makeup dates against the LBCC Vikings have yet to be announced.
Los Angeles County has suffered an ‘unhealthy’ air quality as of Wednesday, according to the Air Quality Index provided by the Environmental Protection Agency.
Several students, faculty and staff have ties to the ongoing fires through family and friends.
“We can’t find out if my grandfather’s house has been destroyed. We think it is because it was in the path of the fire,” said student Desiree Smythe, 20.
Smythe’s aunts, uncles and 94-year-old grandfather were evacuated from their home in San Diego County.
The wildfires become a distraction from her studies because of her concern for her family.
The wildfires forced about 882,000 people to evacuate from their homes and more than $1 billion dollars estimated in damages, according to the L.A. Times as of 1 p.m. on Wednesday.
After announcing a state of emergency on Tuesday, President George W. Bush has made plans to visit Southern California today.
– Additional reporting by Karen Guzelian
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