My name is Anthony Mack and my Canyon Watch handle is CREST-99. This is my story about the Santiago Fire. This was my first view of the fire at 6:02pm on Sunday Oct 21, 2007 only 20 minutes after it started.
This hill was called the “Sleeping Elephant” by Ann Collar, the long time Silverado postmistress. It is opposite Silverado on Santiago Canyon Road.
This is another fire burning by Irvine Lake. This struck me as very odd since neither fire was downwind of the other. The wind was coming from the East and the two fires were burning North and South of each other.
Carl (CANYON-5) did a great job helping out the Highway Patrol by telling people that Santiago Canyon Road was closed to the north of Silverado.
The firefighters and the Highway Patrol worked closely together to keep motorists safe.
From left to right: Anthony (me), Gene, Ev and his daughter drove up to the Franklin repeater to get the generator running, but the pull start would not engage. There was a huge chance the site might burn, but Ev lent us his generator to get us through the crisis. I measured 75 mph winds up there, which blew one of our solar panels off its mount.
From up here you can clearly see the two separate fires burning and how the wind is not blowing from one to the other. I feel they must have had two points of origin. Very suspicious indeed.
Poor Gene and Ev. They repeatedly had to wait for me in the truck every time I wanted to take a picture. They were both very nice about it and patiently waited for me. Thanks guys.
The fire on the left is burning opposite Silverado. The one on the right is burning opposite Lake Irvine. The dots of light on the right are cars on Silverado Canyon road; the dots on the lower left are cars on Santiago Canyon Road.
The wind should have blown the fire away from Silverado, but somehow during the night the fire managed to back its way almost all the way up to Santiago Cyn Rd. It must have had to do with the fact that the brush was incredibly dry.
In a word, Gene Robinson (the head of Canyon Watch in Silverado) was simply great. His soothing voice and calm attitude kept everyone from panicking. Gene is truly the “Father of the Canyons”.
Gene kept a close eye on the fire while he remained in the canyons. But being a wiser man than I, he evacuated when it became mandatory. During the whole fire, we stayed in radio contact almost 24 hours a day. He would call me, or one of the other Canyon Watch members would, with a residence request or a rumor that was getting circulated outside the canyon. If the call came my way, I would jump in my truck and do what needed to be done.
At the start, I was full of energy and had plenty of sleep and strength. After a few days, I was running on adrenaline alone. I lost 8 to 10 lbs during these 7 days.
Lori Martin (standing) and Gwen Solley (in car) are my good friends and neighbors. It was hard seeing them all leave the canyons, but a relief too. As a Canyon Watch member, I went door to door in Ladd Canyon explaining the situation to every resident and imploring them to leave 10 hours before the Highway Patrol did. Miles, a neighbor, told me I was the only person who ever told him there was a mandatory evacuation.
We had been warned and warned by the fire department that this year was extremely hazardous. All residents were invited to a fire department meeting only a few months earlier and 1500 people showed up. We were told so many good things, but my favorite was: “The physics that blows your leaves into that corner of your porch is the same physics that will blow hot embers there. CLEAN UP THAT CORNER OF YOUR PORCH!” Note: The flag is blowing all over the place.
Note the size of the fire above my head. The next picture was taken 32 seconds later.
Fire travels up a hillside much faster than down.
An artistic shot that captures the feeling of the moment.
Claude Franklin owns the hilltop where the Franklin Repeater lives. It is his generosity and kindness that allows Canyon Watch to communicate in the places where we can’t reach the Santiago peak repeater.
I was very worried about the houses at Jackson Ranch, but again the fire department did an outstanding job of holding the fire at bay.
Neither rain nor sleet nor fire nor smoke will stop the US postal service from delivering. Gene and about 10 other residents applaud as the cheering mail-lady passes by.
In order to stop the fire from crossing Santiago Canyon Road, the fire department lights a back fire. The next picture was taken 33 seconds later.
Whoosh
We got a call on the radio saying the following animals needed to be evacuated from the Silverado Children’s Center: hamster, mice, snake, goat, miniature horse and pig called “Tiny”. The three of us responded.
While others got the smaller animals, I got the goat in my car without problems. The pig was a different story. Unfortunately, I did not get any pictures of moving Tiny (the pig), but it was quite an ordeal. We had three big guys and a very upset, noisy, 150 lb. potbellied pig to move. I think it was Greg who noticed its tusks and said, "Chay is coming, let her move it”.
We had to do it but we didn’t have a clue how to move this thing. We tried to put a rope around her neck, but she didn’t have one! We tried pushing from behind. We tried putting a towel over her head, but the results were always the same: she would just run around squealing. The three of us eventually rolled Tiny onto her back and lifted from underneath. No one got kicked in the face with a hoof, but it was close. The squealing was deafening. In this picture, KNX 1070 is interviewing Tiny.
Brett Peterson and friend led the miniature horse to the stables. It's almost a two mile walk.
Because the Highway Patrol didn't know who Chay Peterson was, they stopped her from driving to the Children's Center. She didn't know we were already there, so she hiked in cutting her hand on some barbed wire.
This is one of my favorite pictures.
One of the solar panels at the Franklin repeater site had blown off its mount. Gene, Bob and I moved them to this new location and we really tied them down this time. I think they could take a 120 mph wind now.
The fire department did a great job of protecting Milkey's, the elementary school and the children's center. Thanks to the fire department, there was no real damage done to these structures.
This is the "before" shot. I have not taken the "after" shot yet, but the entire foreground and the whole right side has burned.
Here is the foreground in the previous picture burning. It is the entrance to Silverado and it stopped people from evacuating for hours. Monday Oct 22 at 8:04pm
We were worried about the fire melting the 500,000-volt power lines. If the flames had gotten any higher, Canyon Watch would have warned the people who were about to drive under them. Fortunately, there were no 100-foot high flare-ups under the lines that cross Silverado.
This fire is about 200 feet above the church. It was the closest the fire got to any structure in Silverado.
Animal Control was also fantastic. They were there the whole time pumping animals out of the canyon as fast as they could. Here they helped evacuate Dick and Dixie Hirsch's Irish Wolfhounds (www.sunstag.org).
As the main Canyon Watch fire spotter, I took my 4-Runner off road for many miles.
When I took this picture I reported on the radio network that the fire was approaching the church. According to another Crest R.E.A.C.T. member who was in the fire command center at the time, they dispatched the helicopter you'll see in the next few pictures.
The hand crews are the most amazing people. They do hard labor with heavy packs on their backs right next to the fire. Upper Irvine Mesa
Jackson Ranch survived because of the clearance around the houses and the awesome fire fighters.
Bob Click (Crest-183) and I drove all over the place getting first hand information from the firefighters who were waiting for something. We never got in the way or hindered them in any way. In fact, Bob would get them all laughing with his much-needed jokes.
The fire department did a great job of saving the church.
You can see how close the fire got to some of the houses in Silverado.
The firefighters were sometimes sliding down the hill on their feet. It was very, very steep and the chances of falling were extremely high.
These flyboys are some of the best pilots in the world. At 30 miles an hour they could put that water within feet of their target. All while avoiding smoke and killer wind currents.
Everyone did what was needed. Here we see a captain (red hat) jumping on a little spot fire. Normally that would be done by one of his underlings.
Modjeska was not as lucky. The fire came through here so fast and furiously the firefighters had to flee. The volunteer firefighters that have trained for this day for years were ordered to stand by as they watched their friends' houses burn. It tore them apart.
When water from a helicopter hits the ground, it sometimes hits with amazing force. I think that is what brought this fallen tree down.
This is the entrance to Phil McWilliams' beautiful house. Phil had done so much to help us all prepare for this fire. He runs the emergency email system. He organized many "Chipper Day"s where he implored us to cut down the brush around our houses and have it chipped for free.
Tragically, Phil's was one of the 8 houses that burned in Modjeska. Here you can see his bottles of "Barricade". A fire retardant you apply to your house. Unfortunately, I hear Phil was on vacation and it was never applied.
These water pipes were once inside a wall that is now gone. I turned off his water supply and others in order to save water for the firefighters.
After Phil's house, we saw a spot fire dangerously close to an unburned house. Fortunately, the owners left a working hose out where we could see it. It was very easy to extinguish the flames because the fire was very small and burning in light fuel.
There are just no words to describe how we felt when we saw this.
A very scared rodent trying to hide from the fire.
This picture captured the apocalyptic feeling of total tragedy.
The whole house is gone now. You just can't stop a fire like this.
The newer houses are built to better fire codes and did very well.
After the fire first ripped thru Modjeska, the fire engines came in by the dozens.
Trees like this would burn deep into the ground leaving "ash pits". You could drop a whole leg into a big one if you weren't watching your step.
A house burning.
Bob and I drove up this long driveway checking for any livestock left behind.
Instead we found this poor, pathetic dog that just wanted to go home. Tragically, he was home (you can see it behind me). When we first saw him, his tail was between his legs and he didn't know whether to run from or towards me. I think he liked being held.
Then, while checking things out, we heard a meow from a kitten. Bob went to find the source.
Bob is back there somewhere looking for the kitten.
Then, while standing right in the foreground of this picture, a second kitten rubbed against my leg purring.
I put the camera on self timer mode and took this picture.
Then, Bob found the other one. We looked for more, but could not find any.
This tree went off like a sparkler. By the time I got the camera on the tripod, it had calmed down, but you get the idea.
We were glad there were no animals back here.
The almost full moon as seen thru the heat rising from the fire.
Bob's head had fire all around it when I was looking thru the camera, but a lot can change in the 10 seconds it takes for the timer to go off. Bob is on the left and I'm on the right.
The kittens were starving and thirsty too.
The dog was hungry too, but not as much as the kittens.
I was amazed the power stayed up most of the time and that the cable and phone were both fixed within a week.
Smoke inhalation or road kill? I don't know. It doesn't matter. In either case, the wildlife took a huge hit this week.
These guys were great. They were having a good time in Williams canyon.
I said, "We need an action shot here."
And they all posed for me. They are just standing here waiting for me to take the picture. :-)
There was very little fire at this point.
But the night before it burned two houses and a garage.
Here is one of the houses.
They had an antique car in the garage. Notice the top has blown off the LP tank.
Williams Canyon.
Every time I closed a LP gas tank value, I would leave the lid up to show it has been turned off.
The firefighters said this house was a pleasure to protect. Gravel near the house, small plants with space and then bigger plants. The nearby burning brush presents no threat to this house.
I put this tiny fire out too because it was close to a pine tree.
The grass burned, but the picket fence did not. Weird.
Here LP gas is hissing form the gas pipe and water gushing from the water pipe.
At this point, this was the only fire I could find still burning. But as soon as it got to the bottom of the hill, it raced up the other side.
There were a lot of engines and firefighters.
Can you find the culprit?
Taking the rescue dog to the animal control.
As I was bouncing down my dirt road, this kitten refused to get down.
The news teams like to hang out at Silverado and Santiago. I was interviewed by three of them.
Even after mandatory evacuations, the canyon market was open!! Rick gave the firefighters everything they wanted for free. The firefighter in the foreground was petting Benny's stand in.
Bob and I knew the only thing between this fire and Silverado was an old firebreak road at the top of Wildcat canyon. From 9:00pm Wednesday to midnight we watched the speed of the fire and predicted it would hit the firebreak around sunrise.
Another rescue cat trashes my bathroom.
6:00 am Thursday I'm back at Shaw's Ranch to see a huge fire approach the firebreak (old road).
To my complete surprise the old dirt road work perfectly. All the spots of fire blink out one by one. IT WAS AMAZING! You can see in this picture taken at 7:00 am, almost all the fire is out. The few you can still see fizzled out over the next 30 minutes. All but one.
These guys arrived just 30 minutes too late to catch the one little bit of fire that hopped the firebreak. This was taken at 10:00am after all the excitement was over. Unfortunately, I could not fight the fire and take pictures at the same time. But the next pictures show you what it looked like.
My red face is from the hot fire.
At 7:25 the fire looked like this when it hit the firebreak at the south end of Wildcat Canyon. Notice all the rest of the fire is out.
Then, only one flame hopped the break and would have started down into the canyon.
As an ex-firefighter, I knew that it would be easiest to stop it while it was small and on it's way down the hill. Unfortunately the hillside got very steep only 30 feet down. If I was to stop it, I had to hold it where you see it in this picture. I found a 10 feet long piece of 3/4" PVC and a metal fence post. I used it to cut down the brush that was just about to burn making a mini firebreak about 2 feet wide. It was hard work, but I was able to hold it back until the hand crew arrived.
It was so good to see them. Here you can see the fire crew making my little firebreak into a much bigger one. After I had been cutting brush for about 30 minutes, only one arrived. We fought the fire together until about a dozen of them arrived 10 minutes later. They gave me some of their water, which tasted so good. I really needed it.
My hands really hurt. I had many splinters, scratches and two burns that made blisters. Not bad for removing about two dozen bushes in haste.
I felt good because I actually did something instead of just watching it happen.
I thought it was nice of Verizon to install this temporary cell site. But then a firefighter informed me, "The fire department is paying thru the nose for it.".
Then the fire picked up steam and started coming down into the canyon.
There were firefighters everywhere. In the bushes, under rocks and on the roofs.
It was also burning in Pine Canyon.
I was most worried about the Big Oak Reserve in Shrewsbury Canyon. The fire is about halfway down the side of Silverado Canyon's south wall here.
I didn't see any way the fire was going to stop, but it did. The air tankers and helicopters somehow got it out.
But we didn't know it was going to burn out and this house had 6 very nice cars Canyon Watch was asked to save.
Including a Ferrari. This was up in the air on a lift before I lowered it. Rich got to drive it down to the church.
Tom and I towed it down, but I should have just let it coast. The brakes on the Ford got pretty hot.
Canyon Watch Valet Parking
This might look like hard work, but we were all having a lot of fun here.
The fire in Shrewsbury Canyon mysteriously goes out.
The fire department's fire map. I have added were the fire was actually burning in Big Oak Canyon and Pine Canyon. On Sunday, it all looked good, so on Monday I went to work. As of Friday, we still have not been allowed back in.
