HIDDEN VALLEY LAKE >> The continuing saga of the Valley Fire refugees who took shelter in the local campground after their residences were destroyed by the inferno may soon be coming to an end after nearly three months as a new departure deadline looms.
The campground is officially closed for the winter and no new campers are being allowed in, according to Bob Broyer, interim general manager of the Hidden Valley Lake Association (HVLA), owner of the campground at Hidden Valley Lake and Hartmann roads.
Nearly all of the more than 130 Valley Fire refugees and others that occupied the campground at its peak in November have found refuge elsewhere. As of Monday, only two campsites remained occupied with travel trailers and a handful of people. All tent campers are gone.
Broyer said he did not know where the departing refugees went but added, “I think most stayed in the county since many have kids in local schools.”
One of the camp’s remaining residents, Samuel Mijarez, said they have been given until Jan. 13 to leave.
Broyer confirmed Monday that there is a new January deadline but declined to give a specific date, citing legal concerns.
On Dec. 7, Sheriff Brian Martin said from the campground that some of the camp residents have been there “a long time” and may have certain rights that prevent them from being evicted without due process.
“Right now, it’s in the hands of our legal staff,” Broyer said. He added that the HVLA is currently taking “certain preliminary legal steps” in the process of clearing the campground of its remaining inhabitants. He declined to say what the legal steps are.
Refugees were originally told they had to be out by Dec. 7 but that deadline came and went with about 30 people still in the camp, some fire victims and others who were homeless but not affected by the Valley Fire.
“We have no idea where we’re going,” said Mijarez, who is living in a travel trailer with his parents. They have been at the campground since it opened to fire refugees in early October. He said the family lost their Middletown residence in the Valley Fire,
Mijarez said they have been trying to work with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) but have found its rules and requirements, such as proof of home ownership for the house they lost, daunting.
“The paperwork is overwhelming and every form has to be filled out exactly right or it gets rejected and we have to start over,” Mijarez said.
Like many of the former campground refugees, Mijarez said it is difficult to find affordable temporary housing in the Middletown-Hidden Valley Lake area.
Most campground residents were among the thousands of people displaced by the devastating Valley Fire that destroyed nearly 1,300 homes and 27 multi-family structures, including apartment buildings, in September.
The campground abuts Gallagher Creek, a tributary of Putah Creek, that HVLA officials fear will turn into a raging river that overflows into the campground and adjacent areas with the predicted heavy rains from El Niño hitting its peak this month and in February.
HVLA’s Broyer said “it absolutely concerns me” that the heaviest rains are likely yet to come. “This is going to be a wet week and the ground is getting saturated.”
He said the campground is in relatively good shape after nearly three months of heavy use and that the work that needs to be done is “relatively minor” repairs and normal maintenance and winterizing.
Broyer said basic services, including utilities, will be maintained as long as the campground is occupied. He said county agencies are working with the two families left at the campground to find temporary shelter.
He added, “Overall, we’ve been very successful in working with the people at the campground.”
