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Elderly Evacuees Face Challenges at Fire Shelter

Marianne Bridenbach, 91, waits in Qualcomm Stadium's private luxury bar room where 90 convalescent patients have taken refuge since evacuating Villa Monte Vista Nursing Home on Monday.
Carrie Kahn, NPR
Marianne Bridenbach, 91, waits in Qualcomm Stadium's private luxury bar room where 90 convalescent patients have taken refuge since evacuating Villa Monte Vista Nursing Home on Monday.

Among the thousands of wildfire evacuees at San Diego's Qualcomm Stadium are about 100 elderly nursing home residents.

Many have spent the past three days in wheelchairs, waiting for a time when it's safe for them to return to the nursing home. Some of them are in fragile health.

About 10,000 people were still taking shelter at the stadium Wednesday.

Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Carrie Kahn is NPR's International Correspondent based in Mexico City, Mexico. She covers Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central America. Kahn's reports can be heard on NPR's award-winning news programs including All Things Considered, Morning Edition and Weekend Edition, and on NPR.org.