Shelters emptying out as evacuees move on

[TexasStooge]

But Red Cross seeks space for 1,700 more expected in area today

By ROBERT THARP and KRISTEN HOLLAND / The Dallas Morning News

On its 27th consecutive day sheltering evacuees from two hurricanes, a decidedly optimistic air settled on the floor of Reunion Arena on Sunday.

Cots were still scattered in makeshift groupings, but the pensive faces were mostly gone. Houston-area evacuees who had fled to North Texas itched to get on the road, comforted with knowledge that they could return to mostly intact homes.

Rene Garza, who fled the Houston area with his four children Wednesday, had a full tank of gas and planned to leave Reunion Arena for home by lunchtime Sunday. His house in Humble, Texas, had power and suffered no damage.

"They're telling us to stay, but it shouldn't be a problem," he said, adding that he had no regrets about evacuating.

"I was thinking for my kids. We thought it was going to hit us real hard. They come first. I come second."

Shelter populations were expected to drop dramatically despite requests for patience and warnings that highways leading to southeast Texas were clogged and that gasoline was scarce. Red Cross shelters at Reunion Arena and the Dallas Convention Center had about 1,400 people overnight Saturday, and authorities expected the population would number only a few hundred by bedtime Sunday.

But as some shelters prepared to close, a new wave of evacuees from the Tyler area was expected to arrive today. Red Cross officials warned of a space crunch with the expected arrival of about 1,700 evacuees who had been in East Texas shelters, some of whom had fled from Hurricane Katrina nearly a month ago. Those new arrivals will be parceled out to Dallas-area shelters, officials said.

At midmorning Sunday, 36 people remained at the Lake Lavon Baptist Camp in rural Collin County. The rustic religious retreat previously housed Louisiana evacuees from Hurricane Katrina, but they had already been placed in longer-term housing by the time the Rita evacuees arrived.

Tarrant County had about 1,400 evacuees, and an assortment of faith-based and community shelters in North Texas housed hundreds more.

In Richardson, 102 evacuees had lunch at Apollo Junior High, down from the 218 primarily from Pasadena and east Houston who had arrived by Friday, and waited out the storm at the adjacent Huffhines Recreation Center. Shelter residents are receiving three meals a day from area churches and have access to showers and the Internet.

"We want them to feel very comfortable staying here," said Michael Massey, Richardson parks department director. "The last thing we want to do is create any impetus for these people to leave early."

On the floor of Reunion Arena, volunteers arranged impromptu games of Simon says for children, and two large-screen TVs broadcasted news updates and movies.

Alesia Wallace praised the hospitality she received at Reunion Arena, even though her 5-year-old boy suffered an asthma attack triggered by dust and was rushed to Parkland Memorial Hospital before dawn Saturday. She and 15 other family members who arrived in a five-car caravan after 16 hours on the road were planning to stay until today.

"With the limitations on gas, we decided to see how far we can make it on one tank. We can make it if traffic isn't heavy," said Ruby Young, Ms. Wallace's mother.

Fewer than 20 Louisiana evacuees remain in the Red Cross emergency shelters in Dallas County, but Red Cross spokeswoman Anita Foster said they will soon be moved into longer-term housing.

Fort Worth spokesman Jason Lamers said that the city will begin closing its shelters Wednesday, starting with the Worth Heights Community Center, as housing is arranged for the remaining Katrina evacuees.

"An apartment for somebody would probably have a sofa, table, chairs, bedding, any kind of kitchen essentials, bathroom essentials, cleaning supplies," Mr. Lamers said. "We're just trying to get them everything to start off right in Tarrant County."

The Rita effort was more typical of the agency's disaster relief, which typically lasts about three days, Ms. Foster said.

"It's good to operate a shelter when you know people can go home and they're not going to have a great deal of damage," said Red Cross spokeswoman Anita Foster.