Mayor says Qualcomm available for football
Chargers, NFL, confirm game for Sunday

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SAN DIEGO (10-25-07) -- A spokesman to Mayor Jerry Sanders of San Diego said Qualcomm Stadium will be available to the San Diego Chargers, and that this weekend's game against the Houston Texans can be played locally.

"The stadium will be ready on Sunday,” said Fred Sainz, the mayor's spokesman. “It's their decision to play in San Diego or not."

It is unclear if the game will be played at 1:05 p.m. Sunday (Oct. 28) as scheduled, moved to Monday, as officials with the Texans hinted this morning, or moved to either Dallas or Glendale, Ariz.

The Chargers have yet to announce their plans, but a decision is expected shortly.

FRIDAY UPDATE -- The Mayor's office announced that the Chargers and NFL have agreed to proceed as scheduled in Qualcomm Stadium for Sunday's game against the Houston Texans. The Chargers confirmed this with a two-paragraph statement on its website HERE.

Stadium preperations are underway after the last of the evacuees left the facility before noon as slated.

All CIF-San Diego Section events
cancelled this week

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LINDA VISTA (10-23-07) -- The CIF-San Diego Section announced that all games and practices in all sports have been cancelled for the remainder of the week.

Highlights of Commissioner Dennis Ackerman's press release is listed below:

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EL CAJON (10-22-07) -- All athletics contests and practices for all East County high schools and colleges have been cancelled until further notice due to the fires which are burning several areas of San Diego County.

Grossmont College was officially closed earlier today (Oct. 22) after morning classes were held.

"Due to the fires, Grossmont College was closed at 1 p.m.," said JIM SPILLERS, the school's director of athletics. "We're going to take it day-to-day, but Pacific Coast Conference commissioner JOHN WOODS has cancelled all events for the rest of the week until further notice, although we will still look at it day-to-day."

Cuyamaca College will also stay closed until further notice. According to the GCCCD district website:

"The campuses of Grossmont College, Cuyamaca College and the district offices will officially close at 1 p.m. today, Monday, Oct. 22, 2007, due to concerns about air quality relating to the area’s wildfires and the impact of the region’s fire on students, faculty and staff. District sites will remain closed until further notice. The public will not be able to access either campus."

San Diego Christian College is closed through the balance of the week. However, officials noted, despite the location of the campus near heavy areas of brush, the college is not in danger due to the Harris Fire, which is burning south of the region.

SDCC will also delay class registration for the spring semester, which was originally slated for this week.

According to the San Diego Christian website, "The campus is not in danger at this time, but is cancelling classes due to the many road closures and traffic congestion. All classes including Adult Professional Studies and the Teacher Credential Program are cancelled through Wednesday"

Fire Protection officials are now calling the rash of fires the worst in state history, even over those from the Cedar Fires nearly four years ago.

"These are the driest conditions in 90 years, with Santa Ana winds blowing all the way to the coast -- they usually stop at Interstate 5," said City of San Diego fire chief TRACY JARMAN. "These are conditions we've never seen before."

Photos by Chris DeRosier