Brief stopover in S.D. gives many a glimmer of hope for the future

By Anne Krueger
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
September 9, 2005

Forty-eight evacuees from Hurricane Katrina flew into San Diego yesterday evening for a brief stop on their way to a shelter in Los Angeles.

Some evacuees said they were happy to have escaped the horrors of the hurricane's aftermath.

"I'm glad to be alive right now," said Randy Thompson, 25, of New Orleans. "When I got on that plane, it was like a dream come true."

The flight from Baton Rouge, La., was financed by Andy Reckles, a private-equity fund manager from Atlanta. He said he wanted to help after hearing about a flight last week of 82 hurricane evacuees organized by San Diego businessman David Perez, who also helped organize yesterday's effort.

He said the charter from a Miami company cost about $97,000.

"It's only money. It's what people should be doing," Reckles said in a telephone interview. "They're our neighbors, and they need our help."

After landing at Lindbergh Field, the evacuees were given a medical screening by county public health nurses and doctors to ensure they had medications and were not suffering from any conditions that needed immediate attention. Then they were loaded onto charter buses to be taken to the Dream Center, a 14-story shelter near downtown Los Angeles with more than 1,000 rooms.

The plane landed in San Diego so it could be loaded with 17,000 pounds of supplies to be flown to victims in Gulfport, Miss., said Doug Schultz of Applera Corp., a biomedical company that arranged the return flight. A consortium of corporate aviation jets has made more than 60 flights, delivering 130,000 pounds of supplies to the stricken area, he said.

"We're going to continue to do this until the Red Cross and FEMA can get in," he said.

The evacuees had just a quick glimpse of the tarmac at the private aviation terminal before boarding the buses.

Marilyn George of New Orleans clutched her daughter, Michelle, whose first birthday was yesterday.

"I'm just happy that we're OK, and everyone's OK," she said.

George said she and six other members of her family escaped their homes in New Orleans before the hurricane struck Aug. 29.

"We can't go home," she said. "We can't never go back home. We've got to stay strong for our family."

Thompson said he didn't escape his house until two days after the hurricane hit, and had to wade through water up to his neck to reach a truck so he could get to a shelter.

Holding up a plastic bag, he said, "All I got right now is these T-shirts. I'm glad to have that."

He and his friend, Brandon Henderson, said they weren't sure what the future held.

"We're taking it one day at a time. That's all we can do," Thompson said.