AP: Texas

09/26/2005

By KRISTEN HAYS  / Associated Press

Sweat pouring down his face in sweltering heat, Isam Dimassi defined Houston's post-Hurricane Rita reawakening.

He hurriedly removed boards that protected the windows of his restaurant from the monster that never came, the word "Open" twice spray painted on those yet to come down.

"Everything is fine, you know, no problems," he said outside Dimassi's Mediterranean Buffet near Houston's tony Galleria shopping complex. "We were out of power for a little while, but it was back on this morning and we wanted to open."

He wasn't alone as the nation's fourth-largest city flickered back to life Sunday as airports bustled, businesses reopened and restocked gas stations kept fuel pumping. Cars flowed easily over freeways. City and county transportation officials dispatched buses to bring thousands of evacuees home from shelters, including those east and north of Houston.

A day after Rita spared Houston severe damage by veering east toward the Louisiana-Texas state line, skies were clear and temperatures soared to near 100 degrees.

It was the first day of a staggered re-entry plan drawn up by authorities in hopes of avoiding a rerun of stranded Houstonians and abandoned cars littering freeways after helpless drivers burned through gas in the gridlock that plagued the pre-storm evacuation.

Plenty of businesses remained closed, with windows taped or boarded up, as employees who scattered during Rita's approach dribbled back home. But those that rounded up enough workers gamely opened their doors.

"We tried to open Saturday but we couldn't find enough people," Target employee Vernon Green said minutes after the store opened with abbreviated hours. "We're just going day-to-day."

At Pappas Seafood, a sign read, "Come on in, open at 11. Incredible!" The marquee at Kenneally's Irish Pub said: "Rita who?"

A supermarket near downtown had long lines at registers 15 minutes after opening despite a near-empty produce section and depleted packaged meat and dairy aisles.

"I was without power yesterday for about five hours, but now that it's back on, I'm hungry and need some beef," said Yvette Gatling, a 34-year-old lawyer, who got her wish at the meat counter.

On Sunday, only the northwest quadrant of the city was encouraged to return, but cars streamed in elsewhere.

"I am not going to wait for our neighbors to the north to get home and take a nap before I ask our good people to come home," said John Willy, the top elected official in Brazoria County, along the Gulf Coast south of Houston. "That is ridiculous."

"Our people are tired of the state's plan," he added. "They have a plan too, and it's real simple: They plan to come home when they want."

Traffic was bumper-to-bumper on the southbound lanes of Interstate 45 north of Houston Sunday evening, with a seemingly endless stream of charter buses, cars and sport utility vehicles clogging the highway as well as the adjacent access roads. Gasoline containers were strapped on the roofs of many vehicles, while officers stationed every few miles were helping stranded drivers.

Meanwhile, the city's two main airports, Bush Intercontinental and the smaller Hobby, resumed service Sunday morning. They were shut down Friday as Rita bore down on the Gulf Coast. Houston-based Continental Airlines was operating 249 flights out of the city, with plans to restore its smaller Continental Express and Continental Connection branches on Monday.

More gas stations opened, with lines of motorists eager to tank up.

Groundskeeper Frank Mendoza, 64, was mowing grass in front of a building next to a Citgo station where a tanker truck drove up and drivers quickly followed.

"We've got the gas. People just need to be patient," Mendoza said. "I'm thinking of filling up myself, but all I need to do is top off, because I planned ahead." Four 5-gallon gas cans sat in the back of his pickup truck.

Fuel shortages posed perhaps the biggest challenge to the massive exodus ahead of the storm. Cars were marooned on the main freeways out of town, and buses had to deliver evacuees to shelter.

On Sunday, Houston Mayor Bill White urged essential employees to return to work in the city, including people who work at grocery stores and gas stations.

"There is some fuel available in tankers, but they can't deliver it if you're not there," he said.

Lights blinked on in hundreds of thousands of Houston homes. CenterPoint Energy, the main power provider for greater Houston, reported 300,000 customers without electricity Sunday, down from 600,000 a day earlier.

Some residents who were still without power sought cool sanctuary at a movie multiplex.

The Galleria mall was open, but not all the stores. Armani's doors were closed, but J. Crew and Kate Spade did brisk business. Fast-food establishments started opening, too — and some had drive-thru lines that rivaled the gas stations.

The lawns of mansions in River Oaks, the city's weathiest enclave, already had groundskeepers picking up branches and blowing leaves.

At a supermarket in east Houston, Al Davis shopped for food with his wife and two children. He pushed a cart filled with bread, meat, canned goods as well as potato chips for his kids. Sunday was a day off for Davis, who was scheduled to return Monday to his job as a letter carrier.

"I'm just going to relax and be thankful for the things we have and the things that didn't happen," he said.

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Associated Press writers Erin McClam and Juan A. Lozano contributed to this report.