The Old Fire Recovery Group Of San Bernardino Valley Return to Disaster Survivor Network

Our Disaster

Here is some information about the actual fire that changed our lives.

The Old Fire was one of at least 7 fires which burned in Southern California during October of 2003.  The fires were responsible for killing 22 people, destroying over 3,575 homes and burning almost 750,000 acres.  During the fire, there were over 95,600 people evacuated and 58,350 people without power.  During the suppression of the fire, over 12,700 firefighters were used and cost over $61 million just for the Old, Grand Prix and Padua fires (see USDA report below).  According to that report, the fire suppression cost was only 5% of the total cost of the fire (which documented costs at over $1.2 billion).

There are many "official" documents that discuss the Southern California fire storm of 2003. Some of them include:

• " California Fire Siege 2003 - The Story " from the California Department of Forestry . 
• Blue Ribbon Report from the Governor's Blue Ribbon Fire Commission on the California Office of Emergency Service's website.
• Southern California 2003 - Report for the Wildland Fire Lessons Learned Center.
• " The Old, Grand Prix, and Padua Wildfires: How much did these Fires Really Cost? " by the USDA Forest Service.  This is one of the only reports of it's kind.  It tries to report on ALL costs associated with the Old Fire, and not just fire suppression costs, or reported insurance claims.
• The California Fires Coordination Group - A Report to the Secretary of Homeland Security (by FEMA)

There are several videos that document the fire.

• Alan Simmons has raw, un-narrated video of the fire as it rages through communities.  Search his website for "Firestorm 2003".  There are 3 or 4 videos available.
• Rebuilding Mountain Hearts and Lives (a community group like Old Fire Recovery Group) created a video in cooperation with Soroptimist International called " A Community Journey "
• Charter Communications (the local cable network) did documentary called " After the Firestorm " which won a 2005 Beacon Award for Community; Programming/Single Program.

Each newspaper had their own take on the fires.

• Not long after the fire, the San Bernardino Sun decided to report on human's impact on the local environment and how we "exacerbated" the disaster in a series called Unnatural Disaster . 
• Two years after the fire, The Riverside Press Enterprise did a kind of "tribute" to the fire they called Inland Wildfires which talks about the current state of the forest as well as lots of pictures and multimedia presentations of the 2003 firestorm.
• LA was also impacted, but their coverage was, at best spotty.  No articles are currently posted on their website, except in the archive section (which are only accessible for a fee).
• San Diego has the most coverage.  For a year after the fire, they had several full time people reporting on issues dealing with fire survivors in San Diego County.  Their coverage is called " After the Fire "
• CNN Still has a section dedicated to the fire " Southern California declared disaster area "

© Disaster Survivor Network

Last Updated October 31, 2006