SAN DIEGO—Although the danger from the Southern California wildfires appeared to be abating by Friday, last week’s crisis of wind-driven fires—particularly in the San Diego region—took a toll on the optical industry, both personally and professionally.

A number of companies in this area were closed for part of last week, and some industry executives found themselves packing for a quick evacuation of their homes. The fires’ spread also impacted eyecare practitioners and eyewear retailers whose businesses were not in immediate danger, as patients and customers stayed home or headed for shelters to escape the flames and smoke.

By the end of the week, however, the winds were dying down, giving firefighters a better shot at controlling the blazes.

Said Signet Armorlite’s Ed DeRosa from his headquarters in San Marcos, just north of here, on Friday, “Things are looking better. We were closed Monday, but Tuesday we operated with a skeleton staff and made good strides. On Wednesday, we had 80 percent of our staff back. By Thursday, we were totally caught up. The staff out here did a tremendous job, and the cooperation between all the agencies and citizens was outstanding.”

Lance Allega, director of investor relations/corporate communications for Oakley—based in Foothill Ranch, in the heart of the impacted area—commented, “We’re fine. We saw 50- to 60-foot flames one-quarter mile from our building from the Santiago Canyon Fire that came down into Whiting by Glenn Ranch Road on Tuesday. We’re very smoke-inundated, but overall it’s business as usual—no alterations to production, and we didn’t close.”

San Diego-based Carl Zeiss Vision voluntarily evacuated its offices Monday through Wednesday last week, though employees were returning as of Thursday, according to Fred Howard, president and general manager for the Americas. About 25 percent of the company’s Southern California staff was forced to evacuate from their homes. Howard himself was one of them; his family had to relocate to a hotel before he left to fly to Tampa for the American Academy of Optometry meeting.

Among other local optical companies, Shamir Insight in San Diego was closed Monday and Tuesday, but back to doing business as usual by Wednesday. And at Ophthonix, in nearby Vista, “On Monday, we had to evacuate, because we were in the San Marcos fire zone. We were closed on Tuesday and Wednesday, but were back by Thursday. No one on our team was hurt or lost their home, fortunately,” said chief executive officer Steve Osbaldeston.

Both ECPs and optical retailers also felt the fires’ impact. A spokesperson for Vision Service Plan (VSP) told VMail, “We are considering deploying mobile equipment to VSP doctors in the San Diego area. With all the effects of the fire, smoke and soot in the area, there’s a real need for this. Although a lot of practices are still functioning, specific areas have had tremendous impact, although not on the same level as Hurricane Katrina.”

The company gave out supplies—eyeglass repair kits, CL solutions, artificial tears, blankets, “anything we think will be needed”—directly to people at shelters where evacuees have been sent. And, the spokesperson noted, “VSP is servicing everyone in the area, not just VSP providers. We are providing access to eyecare for everyone. We are there to help.”

VSP has not yet determined how many of its approximately 2,000 eyecare providers in the San Diego and Los Angeles areas have been affected by the fires: “We are still assessing the situation to determine the impact on clients, members and doctors. The biggest problem is that employees have been evacuated from their homes, so there are staffing issues.”

As of Thursday, the Perfect Optics lab in Vista—in which VSP took a stake recently—was open. However, many of its employees had been evacuated from their homes and could not get to work.

Due to the wildfires, all of Luxottica Group’s (NYSE: LUX) Luxottica Retail brands except Target Optical experienced some level of store closures from Los Angeles to San Diego last week, a company spokesperson said. None of the stores experienced damage, and many began reopening Friday. “Despite air-quality issues due to smoke throughout the region, customers are beginning to return,” the spokesperson said. All Luxottica Retail associates were safely accounted for in the affected region, though some associates experienced multiple evacuations.

Luxottica’s Give the Gift of Sight program is partnering with the American Red Cross to provide free eyecare and eyewear to those affected by the California wildfires.

And Reade Fahs, chief executive officer and president of National Vision, which operates leased optical departments in Wal-Mart stores and owns the America’s Best Contacts & Eyeglasses chain, told VMail, “We have had a number of store associates who have been evacuated [many a number of times] and stores having to close early or work with limited staff—but luckily no tragic situations nor lost homes.”

Christie Walker, editor of Jobson’s LabTalk lives in Big Bear, Calif, where one of the major fires was only a few miles away. As of Thursday, she reported, “We are fine. The wind has changed and now it's super-smoky, which is keeping us indoors. The smoke in San Diego has been awful.

“Here in Big Bear they are scooping up water out of the lake to hit the edges of the Slide fire, which is the one closest to us,” Walker said. “The planes come in low over the trees right over our house, so it’s like working in a war zone, but believe me, we love those planes. They are performing what the firefighters call “surround and drown”—the pilot of the “super-scooper” comes in low over the trees, banks around the mountain, has to miss the power lines and then drops down into the lake to scoop up the water, never stopping. He then has to make another complete circle to gain enough altitude to be able to climb up over the mountain top to hit the edge of the fire with hundreds of gallons of water. Quite spectacular.”