This dramatic story was just reported in the Los Angeles Times. Members of the California National Guard, firefighters, and law enforcement groups risked their lives to save others. Why would they do this? There was no money in it for them. There was service, duty, courage, valor. Call it heroic.
The call came in to the California National Guard at 3:15 p.m. Saturday.
A fast-moving brush fire had choked off the only road out of a popular recreation area in the Sierra National Forest. Hundreds of campers were trapped.
The Creek fire, which ignited Friday evening about six miles to the west, had jumped the San Joaquin River and made a run toward the Mammoth Pool Reservoir, where people were enjoying the Labor Day weekend.
“As fire crews and law enforcement were trying to get everybody out, the fire spotted and then basically grew,” said Alex Olow of the U.S. Fire Service. “Exiting out the road wasn’t safe, so people were asked to shelter in place.”
Authorities quickly determined the only way to evacuate them was with a massive airlift done at night as the fire burned unchecked.
That marked the start of a massive multiagency rescue that some officials described as unprecedented in size and scope.
“Our focus was getting the helicopters in and getting as many people out as quickly as possible to save lives,” said Col. Jesse Miller, deputy commander for joint task force domestic support with the California National Guard.
The Guard worked to assemble its teams and line up resources. But by the time it was in a position to send in aircraft, the fire had essentially reached the Mammoth Pool area, said Col. Dave Hall, commander of the 40th Combat Aviation Brigade, which flew the mission.
“The smoke column’s naturally high, very difficult,” Hall recalled. “And we needed some of that essentially to burn down a little bit in order for us to effect a safe rescue.”
At 6:30 p.m., when conditions improved slightly, the Guard launched a CH-47 Chinook and a UH-60 Blackhawk from about 60 kilometers away in Northern California. The helicopters staged in Fresno to receive guidance about where they could approach to pick people up.
A remotely piloted MQ-9 aircraft operated by the Guard’s 163rd Wing based at March Air Reserve Base worked above the site, helping to scout conditions. Personnel identified a small clearing alongside a boat launch road that could be used as an emergency landing zone.
About 8:20 p.m., the helicopters landed at Mammoth Pool.
The seven crew members were greeted by more than 200 campers, many of them clustered on a dock near the boat launch, Hall said. Some had suffered injuries including scrapes, burns and possible broken bones.
But they were ecstatic.
“I spoke with the crew members afterward and they said it was one of the greatest missions they’ve ever done just because of the feeling of relief the individuals who were rescued had,” Hall said. “They were literally giving the crew chiefs hugs as they were boarding the helicopter.”
Rescuers found that some campers had suffered serious burns from the fire as well as scrapes and broken bones.
Some of those at Mammoth Pool described a terrifying scene of driving through flames and finding shelter wherever they could.
Jeremy Remington told ABC30 that he and his family were boating when they went to fill their chest with ice. In less 30 minutes, he said, the fire was roaring toward them.
“The fire completely engulfed everything, all around us,” he said, adding they poured water on their shirts and used them to cover their faces as protection against the smoke and heat.
Two people had suffered life-threatening injuries. They were put in the helicopters first. Then came the 19 “walking wounded,” who needed hospital care but were not considered critical. Crews also prioritized children and those with underlying health conditions, officials said.
“Their focus was on rescuing them, getting them from the point of danger to point of safety and then getting them into the hands of the emergency medical professionals that were on the ground,” Miller said.
Crews dropped off the passengers at Fresno Yosemite International Airport, where a makeshift triage site was set up. There, paramedics assessed injuries and arranged for people to be taken to hospitals, while other emergency workers made sure those who were displaced were matched with shelters.
The helicopters then returned to Mammoth Pool to pick up another load.
By then, between the darkness and thick smoke, conditions had deteriorated again. Not knowing if they’d be able to make it back a third time, the crews loaded as many people into the helicopters as they could — more than 100 passengers in the Chinook and 21 in the Black Hawk, Hall said.
Luckily, they were able to make one more trip, and everyone who wanted to leave was airlifted. Two people chose to stay behind, Olow said.
When the mission was completed about 3 a.m., 214 people and 11 pets had been rescued, Hall said. At least 21 people were taken to hospitals.
“In my career with the Army National Guard, I have not seen an evacuation of this size nor have I heard of anything similar with regards to a fire incident,” Hall said. “So in my book, this is one of the largest events ever.”
But it might not be the last, he said. The fire was 0% contained late Sunday morning and had charred at least 45,500 acres, as evacuation orders continued to multiply.
“We do believe there will be more rescues,” Hall said. “We are posturing crews day and night to support potential rescues. What is unique about the terrain up there is it is a very, very popular camping site and also backpacking site. And because the fire travels very quickly, it is very possible for backpackers and hikers to potentially be stranded.”
Miller credited the work of scores of agencies, including the Madera and Fresno County sheriff’s offices and fire districts, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, the California Office of Emergency Services and the California Highway Patrol, for the success of the daring rescue.
What suckers! I don’t get it. What’s in it for them? No stock options? And what about those people packed into the government airplane? Pathetic. No one wants to see that. They should have gotten loans from their parents long ago, then they wouldn’t have been in this mess. I don’t like people who get themselves into trouble like this. And now they want to take your hard-earned money and get a government handout. I can tell you this, if they can’t take care of themselves, they shouldn’t even be allowed to vote! They’ll probably be begging for government schools for their loser kids. Betsy’ll set ’em straight. Cause straight is all she sees.
Trump must be sneering already. Losers! Suckers! What’s in it for them?
Greg– You nailed it.
But sorry to inform you–the whole story is fake news.
And to think, all of this could have been avoided if people had only gone out and raked the forests!
These people shouldn’t be allowed to vote because they might vote for the wrong person!! Geesh.
And besides that the state has too many radicals, democrats all.
I hope some people remember this and other acts of potential self-sacrifice before they start stereotyping all law enforcement and military officers as being “bad.”
Stereotyping any group is misrepresenting them. Some “bad apples” in police departments do not reflect the courage and service of most police officers. Teachers have been on the receiving end of biased statements about “bad teachers” for years. We understand how unfair and hurtful those comments are.
On the other hand, it’s just as pernicious to claim that anyone wearing a uniform is a hero–just as it’s wrong to claim, for example, that all teachers or those working in healthcare are all “doing the Lord’s work.” Every individual has to be judged as such by their own merits and faults, and invoking either extreme to explain the many is wrong. There are good ones, mediocre ones and, yes, terrible or worse ones. Stereotyping can go other way to create collective absolution. The behavior of, for example, many police unions demonstrates to me that the behavior of some to absolve bad actions can become tribally evil. And the idea that anyone wearing an American military uniform is a hero is ridiculous. It equates one who sacrifices with another with war criminals as well as and paper-pushing bureaucrats who keep their heads low to qualify for their pensions with years of “service”
Agreed. That’s why remedies must address the problems without stigmatizing all the employees in the organization. Some of the problems may be organizational in nature while others may involve more in-service education. Still other remedies may involve firing unfit officers or revisiting the parameters of qualified immunity.
Thank YOU all and individually for your LOVE of human life and taking all necessary precautions in a timely manner effectuating results that exceed truly heroic definitions to this date.
I understand the need for people to get out of the house during a pandemic episode of human life, … but no one could have imagined just how quickly the dual hazardous condition that would befall their outdoor choice of the day. The choice to remain home and inhaling the sights of distant smoke and huddle in the invisible threat of covid-19… or to go into the great outdoors and create memories worthy of long-term joyful memories…
While the actual result of the choices made could have been fatal, a memory of unimagined proportion was realized by professionals who did everything right, at the crucial time needed, with no time to spare to consider failure, bravery, heroism — but, stay focused, to just save lives, now.
This heart-warming story displays the stuff Americans are made of, when the call to duty is presented, and appreciation is due and expressed. As I read this story, I felt I was a movie director reliving the events of a situation that had an unpredictable ending script.
Fortunately, all personnel in their respective professional roles had a different idea how this “movie” would end…10% scrapes, bruises and broken bones!
Amazing. Simply, amazing. I applaud the heroism, determination and love of each individual providing any contribution to this cheerful and tearful ending memory.
L e l a n Anderson
In related news: Inmates get paid pennies to fight wildfires in CA, but most cannot get legitimate jobs as firefighters once they are on the outside.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.sacbee.com/news/california/fires/article244286777.html
Yup. And that’s part of the reason California had to call up the Guard in the first place – because they’ve refused to release inmates during a pandemic, the virus has spread like, well, wildfire, through the prison system, so the prison firefighters are not available to fight fires right now.
Let me remind you that California is a liberal state with a Democratic governor. For those who think Trump is the disease rather than a symptom.
Wrong, Dienne. California could not call on inmates to fight the fires because many have been released to avoid exposure to COVID. The inmates get training before they join the fire brigade.