Pete Smith: Association Doesn't Support Keeping Members Out

Just got off the phone with Pete Smith, who says the powers that be above the Sheriff's Dept. aren't lifting the evacuation orders for Rancho Santa Fe. Smith said the lower levels of the Dept. were OK with it, but some commanders in the system had not signed off yet. He would not say when he thought the orders might be lifted.

"The Association and the Patrol, we were comfortable letting people in yesterday," Smith said. "The Fire District concurred this morning — from a fire standpoint they were OK with it. We still as of right now have not gotten the Sheriff or whatever their authority above them is to open or take down the checkpoint. We had told them that as of 9 am this morning that the Association is no longer going to provide support for checkpoint activities that were keeping members out of our community."

He also stressed that the Sherrif's Department and the National Guard had done an "unbelievable" job of proving support during the wildfire crisis.

"I couldn't begin to state when it would be over," Smith said of the evacuation. "What we don't support right now is the position of keeping our members out of our community."