I am up after 2:00 a.m., not for gusting winds and the smell of smoke, although that is still thick in the air. This time it is the burning questions that have me wide awake.
Getting back into a semi-normal routine today feeling slightly fatigued and overwhelmed coming out of the past three hazy days of the firestorm, realizing that life really does go as soon as I opened my email this morning to an e-bill stating it is time to pay for cable, which, at this time, isn't even working. I still have to go get the payroll reports done for my day job so I can pay the bills and begin to call clients and re-arrange schedules for the employees of the spa I manage because as soot swirls down towards the earth, not too many people are signing up for facials the rest of the week.
Speaking of soot...the scrolling bar at the bottom of my screen still says the air quality in San Diego county is "unhealthy for all" and to "stay indoors." No outdoor activities for active children, elderly and active adults or those with respiratory problems. There is so much smoke and white ash flying around it almost looked like it was snowing at times. It is not just unhealthy for us but for animals and plants and our water. So, if it is so "unhealthy," why have thousands of people been evacuated to an outdoor stadium with kids makeshift playgrounds set up in the parking lot for the outdoor activities they are warning against?
The proceedings, efforts to help the evacuees in terms of supplies and getting them information they need are really going great at Qualcomm Stadium. That I am not knocking and don't get me wrong, there are many things that the city is doing right. What I want to know is why the San Diego Convention Center never opened for evacuees? This is a facility in one of the safest areas of the county in terms of proximity to the fire, completely enclosed and climate controlled and large enough to house thousands of people...out of the "unhealthy for all" air.
The same can be said for the old Sports Arena, now called the IPAY One Center. This is an enclosed arena that seats thousands with a flat center area for concerts, monster truck shows and Disney On Ice. So why can't they open it up for San Diegans who have been told to pack up and go out into the soot-filled open air parking lot at Qualcomm? And why didn't anyone say something, make an indoor city-owned facility mandatory or ask the question, when they had the chance: President Bush, the Governor, the Mayor...hello-anybody home? Even Katie Couric stood at the media-friendly stadium commenting on the kids play area on this "picture perfect" weather day in sunny Southern California. What? Someone give that lady some coffee and a wakeup call!
Maybe I'm missing something. Maybe there is a good explanation or maybe the whole stadium things is just so perfect for sensationalizing a horrific situation someone just couldn't resist instead of saying thanks but no thanks, we need a place that is going to get people out of the lung, nose, throat, and skin damaging, chemical/smoke/ash polluted air and indoors! Your guess is as good as mine. Maybe the health care system knows. Maybe I should quit caring so much and just post fliers at the stadium for discounted facials.
Let's hope someone will add this to the "next time" list.
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Same with the convention center. Have you driven around back to see all of the loading bays? Very organized and able to handle the thousands of people that come for conventions, food, the selling of clothes and books and everything! Yes, I have been there too and all the rooms indoors, the huge spaces inside the convention center would have housed plenty. The parking situation may have been tough though. That one I'll give you.
Oh...the false statements...hmmmm. Have you seen the picture of my car from my last blog? It was snowing ash in North County and whether it was or wasn't at the stadium, city officials were the ones announcing over and over that the air quality was unhealthy for ALL and to stay indoors with no outdoor activity. Ring any bells?
Meanwhile, I was going to send you some rain to San Diego from Seattle, but if you've got 60,000 in a parking lot, I guess I'll wait.
Well, glad you're safe.
The evacuees at the Qualiseum aren't staying in the stadium. They're staying in the parking lot. Why? Because the stadium parking lot is huge and can handle the influx of vehicles and people coming in, not just the evacuees but also the support staff there to assist them. Let's assume it was closed. Where inside the stadium were you expecting to house 60,000 people? The Astrodome only took 25,000 people after Katrina. The Superdome only took about 10,000.
Yes, Sports Arena has a big parking lot and the arena is enclosed, but what are we to do with the people who don't fit inside the smaller floor of the arena? Better than nothing? Perhaps. But there's an access problem: There's only one way in.
Speaking of which, the Convention Center? They certainly have the floor space, but trying to get 60,000 people downtown would be a nightmare. Have you tried getting there during a Padres game? That's right across the street from the Convention Center and that's only 20,000 people.
Now, it would probably have been a good idea for the Sports Arena or the Convention Center to provide support services for those who needed to get out of the air. Handily agree with you there. But if you need to put a huge number of people up for days on end, Qualcomm Stadium is an obvious choice.
Plus, don't make false statements. While the air is smoky, there's no ash falling in Mission Valley. Compare this to the 2003 fires when the ash rained down all the way out to La Jolla and the sun never came out.