Christmas is just around the corner, but for many families who lost everything in the Jan. 22 floods, the holiday season is mixed with some frustration and uncertainty.
On Beta Street in the Southcrest neighborhood, it’s hard to tell that it’s almost Christmas. There are practically no holiday decorations hanging on roofs or in the yards. Instead, damaged homes either sit empty or are crowded with construction equipment and large Dumpsters holding debris.
Greg Montoya has not wavered in his belief about the cause of the high waters.
“If the drain would have been cleared properly, we would not have flooded," Montoya said.
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Montoya is referring to the city drainage infrastructure behind his home that was clogged before the disaster. A group of homeowners is in the process of suing the city over that issue.
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Montoya has lived in Southcrest for 30 years, collecting antiques.
Most of his antiques were drowned in the flood and his house was largely destroyed. He's rebuilt slowly and has continued to complain to the city and advocated for his neighbors about their lack of infrastructure.
“I get sick leave, time off, vacation, so I was able to accumulate most of that stuff and take time off to fix my house," Montoya told NBC 7. "I'm one of the blessed ones."
As discouraging as it might be for homeowners who are still not settled almost a year later, there is some hope for the holiday season.
Friday morning, the San Diego Padres and the San Diego Police Department treated more than a hundred local children to a shopping spree at the Kearny Mesa Walmart. They're students from Cesar Chavez Elementary, which is located in the heart of Southcrest. A third of them lost their homes and many of their possessions in the floods.
Francisco Santos is the principal of the school.
“They had to go into hotels," Santos said. "They were staying with their [aunts] or cousins. They were just misplaced.”
Santos said most of his 360 students in UTK through fifth grade have returned to classes with regular attendance this fall semester.
