A structural fire broke out just less than 1/4 mile from our house around 5:15 p.m.Pam and I got home around 5:00. I went out into our backyard and smelled smoke. I surmised it was the Tehipite fire that was still burning miles away near Kings Canyon.
I came back inside the house and Pam is walking towards me in the hallway to the den and said she smelled smoke as if it were in the house. I told her it is smoky outside.
I went to the garage to start loading gear for our upcoming camping trip in the Sierra Nevada. As I come out of the garage through the garage door I glance to my right and couldn't help but notice this tall column of black smoke from the west coming from the other side of the next crest.
I went back in the house and dialed 911 as I walked out towards the street. The dispatch said fire crews were on the way to the fire on Road 400.
"Road 400? Ma'am, the fire is burning in Yosemite Lakes Park and I am located about 1/4 mile from the fire!"
She said nothing more. I left it at that.
Within 10 minutes of making that 911 call that fire became a grass fire. Where are the fire crews?
I hear sirens but they are down in the valley. They are going the wrong way! They are going down Road 400.I see the Fire Chief vehicle off in the distance on the next crest.
In the meantime, our street has become a parking lot with onlookers.
I walk down to our neighbor's house down in the draw. I ring the doorbell. No one is home. They have horses. They are calm, but for how long? As I was making my way back up their driveway, my neighbor comes flying down the driveway. I give him the situation and if there was anything we could do, we would be willing to assist.
Soon, there was an OV-10A Airtactical spotter plane circling overhead.
Two other aircraft soon arrived. An S-2A Airtanker swoops in and delivers its 800 gallon load of fire retardant. It is amazing how they can drop this right on target. Another tanker, an S2-T Airtanker delivers its 1200 gallons of fire retardant with a direct hit. Both planes make two drops each.
We could hear the bulldozer that was called in to establish a fire break. We did not see it, but you could sure hear it.
Two helicopters arrive on scene to extinguish what little fire was left. One I couldn't recognize, but the other one had this very distinct "wump-wump-wump" sound. Gotta be a Huey. And it was. A UH-1H Huey. The little chopper that could. It appeared to us that everytime that Huey filled up the bucket with water a majority of the water spilled out. You could see it draining from the bucket in flight. I was reminded of cartoon characters running with a bucket of water only to have a drop left to douse the fire.
After the helicopters left the ground crew moved in with their chainsaws.
Around 9:00 p.m. the embers were still glowing. Our neighbors down below were still outside watching and listening to all that was going on.
Thanks to the efforts of the CDF fire crews the fire was contained and no other structures were damaged. For a moment there, when the wind-fanned inferno flared up, we thought other the houses in the vicinity were going to be destroyed. We had concerns ours would be, too.
It was quite the airshow. Pam and I were amazed at the precision and coordination demonstrated by the fire crews.
Fire retardant being dropped.
One of the helicopters
