Thousands of southern California residents in the areas affected by the wildfires had no mail delivery throughout much of the week of Oct. 27, the U.S. Postal Service reports. But as of Oct. 31, when the temperature dropped considerably, rain fell, and firefighters were beginning to get the problem under control, only “hundreds” of residents weren’t receiving their mail, the agency says. What’s more, the Postal Service expects most, if not all, mail delivery to return to normal the first week of November.
“We had temporary post offices set up in mountainous areas in San Diego County,” says David Mazer, a USPS spokesperson based in Los Angeles. “Many postal trucks couldn’t get into areas that had heavy smoke and thus couldn’t make deliveries this week. But the weather changed dramatically, and just about every delivery was made Oct. 30 and Oct. 31.”
When the mail was held early in the week, Mazer says, catalogs were treated the same as other mail, held for pick-up by consumers. The same holds true for residents whose homes were destroyed.
At least 10 separate fires have ravaged areas south of Los Angeles, including Simi Valley and Thousand Oaks, covering more than 1,200 square miles. According to several reports, more than 105,000 people have been forced from their homes.