The Japanese Americans could bring only what they could carry—clothes, plates, cups, utensils, linens, toiletry items, and mementos—to the designated collection points. With less than a week to sell their businesses, houses, and valuables, they had no time to get things in order. The evacuees were moved to 16 assembly centers. Many of the assembly centers were located on fairgrounds and racetracks, where the living conditions were overcrowded and unsanitary