Wildfires leave students feeling 'helpless'
>>Print ViewPublication Date: 10/25/2007
sponsored by
As wildfires continue to burn on the West Coast, two Purdue students are anxiously tracking the devastation in California with loved ones in mind.
"I live in Rancho Bernado, which is one of the hardest hit areas," said Tristan Poehler, a senior in the School of Management. "Really, just the last couple days have been hectic trying to keep in touch with friends and family.
"I know that over 100 houses in my neighborhood were destroyed," he said.
The raging fires have forced more than half a million people from their homes, detroyed about 1,500 homes and killed one person. The fires have been burning since Sunday, fueled by dry conditions and strong winds.
Poehler said it's been hectic staying updated with people in California and he's been checking on people through text messages and Facebook.
"I feel pretty helpless and just really stressed out not knowing," he said. "If I was there I could help my family evacuate; it was just my dad just trying to move everything out."
These destructive blazes are due to a combination of several key factors, said Purdue fire chief Kevin Ply, which makes fighting giant wildfires a completely different type of fire control than what the Purdue department is trained for.
"The bottom line is it's just extremely dry and whatever kind of source starts burning and with the winds that they're experiencing at this time of year, with 30 to 50 mph winds, it just pushes that fire through those rural areas," Ply said.
Kacy Rodriguez, a graduate student who studied at Pepperdine University as an undergraduate, will continue to check Facebook to stay connected with her friends out west.
"I'm kind of scared for them and kind of scarred by the property that's been lost," she said. "I can check up on how my friends are doing, but I can't do anything.
"It seems so far away even though it's in our country."