The view from San Onofre; Reef HQ will open Thursday

I checked in with Una Baker in San Clemente after hearing the 5 Freeway was closed at Cristianitos Road, the exit near her house.

She sent me some pictures she took this morning at 10:30 a.m. from San Onofre State Beach.

According to the Camp Pendleton Website, the base is currently fighting two separate
fires. The Horno fire is the largest, covering approximately
6,000 acres, and is 10% contained. The Wilcox
fire, covering approximately 200 acres, is approximately 80% contained.

In other news, Reef offices in Carlsbad will reopen Thursday. Here’s the press release:

Carlsbad, CA (October 24, 2007) – Reef Headquarters are scheduled to reopen tomorrow morning, October 25th if conditions permit. The Carlsbad offices were forced to close from Monday, October 22 through Wednesday, October 24 because of the encroaching Witch Creek Fire. This particular fire has so far overtaken more than 200,000 acres of Northern San Diego County, destroying over 600 homes.

To the company’s best knowledge, all Reef employees, their families and homes are OK. Many people are still evacuated from their homes and are understandably unable to make it to work today.

“This has been a very trying week for all residents of San Diego,” says John Wilson, President of Reef. “It is a huge relief to know that Reef employees are safe and we’re lucky that the fire missed the Reef buildings. Not all of our friends and neighbors were as fortunate and Reef is ready to help in the community where we can.”

The advisory evacuation recommended area is now running along Palomar Airport Road, just south of the Reef building. The fires did not affect Reef satellite warehouses or consumer service departments. Reef was able to maintain an appropriate level of service throughout the week.

Reef has an established charitable committee, Reef Redemption, which aids environmental and humanitarian causes. Mike Gass, Director of the Reef Redemption Fund explains, “We’re evaluating how passionate employees can provide a sustainable relief effort to support our San Diego community.”