EARTHQUAKE: THE LONG ROAD BACK : Pulling Up Stakes

They had come by the dozens, some carrying the only possessions they could scavenge from quake-ravaged houses and apartments, some simply too scared to go home. Quickly, these urban refugees turned Lanark Park in Canoga Park into one of the lasting images of the Northridge earthquake, a collection of urban refugees finding solace first under the stars, later under the tents of the National Guard.

It didn’t take long for a certain rhythm to develop as the Guard, Salvation Army and charitable organizations raced in to help the residents of the tent city. New friendships formed amid the food and supply lines. Children played with the troops.

At first, no one thought of leaving the relative security of the tents to move back home, especially when the earth still rumbled. On Jan. 21, four days after the quake, 3,957 refugees lived in city parks. A week after the temblor, there were still 1,300 in Lanark Park.

But the numbers quickly dwindled with the onset of rain and cold weather. By late last week, the number in Lanark Park was down to 169 and then to a quake-weary handful. A crew of five or six National Guard troops, without their M-16 rifles, strolled casually through the park, chatting with the few remaining people as they prepared to leave.

By Saturday, the park’s last residents prepared to go home or were taken to the tent city in Winnetka. When the day was over, Lanark Park was a park once more.