Barrington Hills doctor aids fire victims

Ash and soot rain are raining from the sky over Southern California, yet Dr. Young Chung sees hope.

"I think the mood is getting better," the Barrington Hills neurosurgeon said from San Diego Friday afternoon. "Now they're lifting some of the evacuation orders, and certainly some of the people who are worried their homes are burned are finding out they aren't."

Chung, 47, arrived Wednesday after being deployed by the American Red Cross of the Greater Chicago Area. He's been running around chaotically trying to help.

"You can actually see the wildfires from the plane," Chung said. "It's quite impressive to see the orange glow."

Chung also volunteered to help Hurricane Katrina victims and is charged with mostly administrative duties at shelters.

Arlington Heights native Greg Ulreich lives in Chula Vista, Calif., just south of San Diego. He's already grown accustomed to the fires after living through the 2003 fire which burned through 273,000 acres and killed 15. That year, he opened up his home to friends who were forced to evacuate.

As of late Friday, Ulreich's house was still safe.

His 16-year-old daughter recalls the sense of panic Monday afternoon at her high school. Class had been canceled for the week.

"At school it was all smoke and ashes falling everywhere," Jessica Ulreich said. "The principal and teachers told us to stay inside. It was pretty hectic because a lot of parents were picking their kids up. … I just wanted to go home and be with my parents."

Eleven deaths have been linked to the fires, which have torn through more than 487,000 acres and at least 1,800 homes since the weekend. About 24,000 homes remained threatened, as several major fires were no more than 30 percent contained in San Diego County and the Lake Arrowhead mountain resort area in mountains east of Los Angeles.

Rolling Meadows Fire Chief Ron Stewart said area firefighters don't have anything to compare with battling a wildfire.

"We have nothing of the magnitude of what's going on the West Coast," Stewart said. "They truly are the experts on a whole different type of operation."

• Daily Herald news services contributed to this report.