Impoverished tribe hit hard by blazes

The La Jolla Band of Luiseño Indians in San Diego County lost much of what little they had to the Witch and Poomacha fires. But the tribal chairman says they will rebuild.
By David Kelly
Los Angeles Times Staff Writer, NOVEMBER 22, 2007

LA JOLLA INDIAN RESERVATION -- The firestorms that swept much of Southern California recently were especially cruel to this hardscrabble reservation clinging to the southern slopes of Mt. Palomar.

Residents described flames sweeping over lush hills and valleys, burning 94% of the reservation and destroying 59 of its 170 houses. Thick forests of live oak that once shaded homes and provided acorns for generations of Native Americans are gone now, replaced by black scars of ash.

Unlike many neighboring tribes, the La Jolla Band of Luiseño Indians don't own a casino. Many members rely on government aid to survive and the chief source of revenue is a campground along a three-mile stretch of the San Luis Rey River.

"We were already at the bottom of the barrel and now this takes us down even further," said tribal Chairman Tracy Lee Nelson, who returned from his honeymoon to find cinders where his house had stood.

"I have never been up against anything like this before," he said. "It will take millions of dollars to repair this reservation."

Tribal members, who number about 700, are still trying to digest the magnitude of destruction that has touched everyone in some way.

Viola Peck, 87, tribal vice chairman, grew up in these hills. Her great-great grandfather was one of the first tribal leaders.

Peck's home burned to its foundation in less than 10 minutes, firefighters said. While the fires were largely out everywhere else, helicopters continued making water drops on reservation hot spots.

Peck visits the remains of her house like she's meeting an old friend. Recently she was sifting through the ashes and found two blackened teacups.

"I lost my house, I lost everything," she said, looking over the ruins and burnt trees. "I try to be strong in front of the family but I have my moments when I'm alone."

Her grandson Adam Geisler, 23, said he cries every time he sees the house. His own home nearby survived.

"My grandfather passed away right here," he said, pointing at a place that used to be a bedroom. "This is where the family came together. I'm talking Christmas dinner, Thanksgiving dinner. This is where I learned Santa Claus didn't exist."

Peck smiled. "I remember that, you ran out of the house and hid," she said.

Geisler said the destruction on the reservation was different from damage elsewhere, such as Rancho Bernardo near San Diego.

"Those are newer places and people can leave and go elsewhere," he said. "This has been our home for generations. We have ties to the land. We won't go rebuild somewhere else."

Of San Diego County's 18 reservations, 11 were hit by the Witch, Harris or Poomacha fires. All the fires are now extinguished.

The La Jolla tribe, largely spared during the devastating 2003 Cedar fire, bore the brunt of the destruction this time with 8,679 of its roughly 10,000 acres burned. The neighboring Rincon Nation of Luiseño Indians was also hit hard, losing 65 houses and 3,585 acres along with its historic chapel.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs said it has received over 800 applications for assistance from Indian households throughout the county for food, clothing and shelter. It has made $600,000 in emergency assistance available.

Wealthy gaming tribes, such as Pechanga and Soboba, have provided free hotel rooms and shelter for displaced Native Americans. They have also donated thousands of dollars.

"We are working very hard with FEMA" to get the La Jolla band interim housing, said James Fletcher, superintendent of the BIA for Southern California. "They have lost close to 70% of their housing stock."

Some reservations, such as San Pasqual, escaped virtually unscathed, losing just six acres.

"We fared very well because we were devastated by the 2003 fires which thinned out the brush and debris so we didn't have the fuel to burn," Tilda Green, tribal administrator for the San Pasqual, said. "In 2003 we lost 85 houses. We were not prepared and had little time to evacuate. This time we had our Fire Department out watching the houses. We also had firebreaks around homes."

Green said it took months after the Cedar fire for the gaming tribe to rebound.

"The fire really impacted our tribe and it took all of our resources to get back on our feet," she said. "It took us a year to pull ourselves out of the depths of destruction."

Nelson, the La Jolla tribal chairman, drove down the winding dirt road into Poomacha Valley to see his family house.

"The wind comes through here like a tunnel," he said. "The fire just broadsided us. The sky looked like an atom bomb had gone off. The speed and intensity of it made me shiver."

Nelson, an accomplished musician, said he would be putting trailers up on an empty baseball field for emergency housing.

He drove up a steep, rough road. On one side was his perfectly intact neighbor's home, a few feet away his house lay in ruins. "This is it, this is our family home," he said. "We have had it for 25 years."

Nelson, 42, said he's played guitar with the Native American band Redbone, which had the 1970s hit "Come and Get Your Love." One of his guitars was signed by B.B. King and was lost in the fire along with more than 9,000 CDs.

He heard of the fire as he was returning from a "Blues Cruise" to Mexico with his new wife. A few frantic phone calls later he realized the reservation would not be spared this time.

"It looked like someone was pouring gasoline on that fire," he said.

And yet Nelson is optimistic. Money is pouring in, food, water and clothing are stacked to the roof in the tribal school and, more important, the La Jolla are working together in a way they never have before.

"There is a reason for everything that happens," he said. "There is a tradition that we were created from these mountains, dirt and trees. That's in our old songs. Maybe the Creator made the decision to regenerate the land. Fire is part of our culture so this is all part of our life."

Whatever the reason, he said, "We are going to rebuild."

david.kelly@latimes.com