Last of Reunion Arena evacuees leave

[TexasStooge]

By Bert Lozano / WFAA ABC 8

DALLAS, Texas - For the first time since Hurricane Katrina, there will be no evacuees sleeping at Reunion Arena. The American Red Cross put 125 of the last remaining evacuees in hotels Sunday.

While people worked to clean the arena, a Cowboys game played on two huge monitors set up for evacuees. However, there were already no evacuees to watch the Cowboys' victory.

Reunion Arena served as the longest running shelter in Dallas history during the hurricane crisis before it closed its doors over the weekend.

About 28,000 evacuees registered at the arena with Red Cross and ate more than 180,000 meals.

"As we all came in today to roll up the carpet, we did get pretty emotional," said Anita Foster, a spokeswoman for the American Red Cross.

The Red Cross operated the shelter since August when told to expect 25,000 evacuees from Hurricane Katrina.

The city eventually also opened the Dallas Convention Center to evacuees as the arena filled up, and the two buildings continued to serve as shelters for evacuees when Hurricane Rita threatened the Texas coast.

"It has been a tough journey," Foster said. "No question about it. But we have seen people get the help they need."

The hurricanes spurred an unprecedented relief effort in Red Cross' history that helped sign up close to 5,000 volunteers. The crisis turned into a major relief effort for those volunteers.

"I don't think I slept the first three days," said volunteer Zayn Aguilar. "It was non-stop."

Still, Aguilar said he plans to make the Red Cross a life-long commitment.

"I've just met some of the most compassionate people working here with American Red Cross," he said.

The Red Cross appreciates people such as Aguilar, because according to them there is still a lot of work to be done.

And as volunteers continued to work at the arena cleaning up, there were still some returning to the building looking for help.

Mary Jones, her son and nephew were turned away from the shelter after it closed. They arrived at Reunion Arena for dinner even after the Red Cross put them up in a hotel.

"The shelter was nice, considering the road we traveled from Beaumont," she said. "This shelter was like paradise."

Now, there will be no more meals served to evacuees at the once temporary home for thousands. Instead, the building is transforming from a shelter to an arena ready to host Disney on Ice.

"We were the first shelter to open in Dallas [and] we're the last to close behind other major cities," Foster said.