July 28, 2018 – With all of the stress people have been feeling during the Ferguson Fire in Mariposa County, we wanted to share an uplifting story from Les Marsden. It's his story about returning home, after being evacuated from his Jerseydale home, and meeting some of the wonderful firefighters that protected the area.
Story courtesy of Jerseydale resident, and Mariposa Symphony Orchestra founding music director and conductor Les Marsden. Thanks for sharing Les!
(Pictured): Captain Shaun Walker (at far left) with Les Marsden, and crewmen Corey Thibault, Cameron Kaiser and Steve Kramer
Okay - it's now official: after testing the waters by myself on Tuesday and Wednesday, the other three Marsdens (Diane, Max - and the big woof Jack) came home this afternoon. I had a busy morning, including a conference call with the senior staff at Yosemite including Superintendent Mike Reynolds - and the important takeaway from THAT conference is that while the South Entrance truly had to close today, and ditto with Yosemite Valley, the remainder of the park IS open. The air is just terrible in the Valley - there have been visitors and employees becoming ill from breathing it in - and besides the public health risk, the fire IS spotting near and even in Yosemite now, near Yosemite West. On a slightly-more positive note: a lot of work is being done to hopefully contain and subdue the fire's Western flank in the hopes that Arch Rock (and Highway 140) may be reopened sometime in the near future, providing access to a little more of the park. Sure, the Valley is incredibly iconic, but there's far more to Yosemite - and much awaits all across the 120 corridor, both inside AND outside the park. And - don't forget about all the things one can do in the Gateways themselves: though I'm starting to sound like a destination marketer...
So - we came home this afternoon. The air is generally MORE smoky and occluded, but there were none of the spotfires and smoke plumes I observed when I came here by myself on Tuesday. Oh, there's much evidence of the fire and it COULD have been catastrophic: I spoke with a neighbor whose vacant lot had about 25% of its rear two acres burned. Fire came VERY close to houses - in some cases, burning around a couple. Fortunately, the water tanks high near the base of Snyder Ridge we depend on for our water supply up here were likewise protected and spared; had they been lost, it would have been disastrous. I drove Jack in the Mazda and Diane and Max followed in the Honda as we surveyed the Snyder Ridge/Creek Loop - the long way to our home. As I approached the upper end of our large circle drive, there was a fire crew - and their 850-gallon truck. Relaxing, even as they kept watch. I had been stopping to thank all first-responders along our route, but here we were: a crew right there at the house!
Diane preceded me down the drive while I stopped to speak with them for a couple minutes. But I HAD to get down to the house to unload and stow the just-purchased perishables. (Yeah, the refrig still smells a bit, but - time will tell.) But as soon as I did put stuff away, I walked back up to the road to thank them in person. And we had a GREAT visit: this crew came all the way from Turlock (City of Turlock Fire Department) and the four guys could not have been more gregarious if they tried. OES 339 - the Governor's Office of Emergency Services, the rig based in Turlock. (The photo shows them with their new mascot - they couldn't afford a Dalmation.) Captain Shaun Walker (at far left) and crewmen Corey Thibault, Cameron Kaiser and Steve Kramer. Though the guys all work for the City of Turlock's Fire Department, they normally don't serve together - but were assigned to be on our fire and made for a really great team! They were ordered to report up here to Mariposa Pines on Sunday, July 15th - just two days after the fire began, and one day after we were evacuated. They shared many stories and some really harrowing pictures (Shaun had some amazing shots on his camera - a camera he had JUST unfortunately dropped) but he shared his pictures with me even through that cracked screen: shots of his team and others literally standing next to homes with fire towering above them. They put those fires OUT - they saved those homes. He had pictures of first responders standing on the roofs of peoples' homes up here - raking pine needles off as the fires approached.
He showed me some shots of a home at the end of the road - at the end of Hites Cove Road, which parallels our road - a house RIGHT through THERE from us - and told me of the successful war WON to keep fire from consuming that house. But then - when it WAS over, and they were on mop-up and watch: they noticed that home had a swimming pool. And this is what amazed me: it's been HOT up here. They're fighting FIRES. They have ALL that gear, they're sweltering - and I said I hoped they had cooled off in that pool. But - you know what they did instead? No electricity - power was off, of course - but they found the owner's generator, powered it up to the filter and got it going and then: CLEANED the pool. Skimmed it. Removed debris. No, they didn't go for a cool dip: they left the owners a clean pool.
Just then, as they were telling that story, the Battalion Commander drove by - and I was glad that it took very little prompting from me for him to praise this magnificent crew for their work. But Shaun told me that the gratitude of homeowners like me was their reward.
I wish I could have given them the moon.
They haven't just been cleaning strangers' pools or (as I posted last evening) watering our dopey plants and Christmas trees - though of course, they've done that, too. They've been feeding cats. They've been looking after our homes once the fires are out and the danger has passed. And I repeatedly told them how grateful we all are for their incredible service - and that (totally sincerely) OUR home is now THEIR home. I knew I couldn't offer them a drink (Shaun said his detail kept him from his home and family for 20 days, and in all that time the crew doesn't drink EVEN in their time off - they're still on call) but I did offer our home to them: to rest, to have food or drink - to relax, to shower - whatever they needed. But instead, they asked what they could do for ME! They wanted to know if they could drag our refrigerator outside, or if I needed them to clean the deck, or move things or - whatever I might need.
Wow. Hadn't they already done so much? How could I even begin to find a way to thank them for saving our homes, watching after them and us - and they wanted to do MORE?
What amazing, dedicated and true heroes these young men are. How lucky we are that not just the Shauns, and Coreys, and Steves and Camerons but ALL the crew personnel, all the men and women - not only from our region but the entire state, and from other states as well: are here.
I asked how long they'd be at the house - and they said probably through the evening. I walked down to our gratefully-still-there home, continued unloading non-perishables and all the detritus of being exiled from that home for 12 days. All that took an hour or two, and all the while I thought "what can I do, what small gesture can I make - what might a fire crew want right now?" The answer, of course: was a cherry pie! And I could whip one up in no time flat. It was still only the afternoon - and I could have one made and baked in an hour. Had everything I needed - and just then - up on the road, I heard the truck pull off. And it was gone.
Without a pie.
I hope you can tell how grateful I am. And how touched. Pie or not, I'd be honored to be their Dalmatian any day.
Stay safe, my friends.
Les Marsden
Related: Firefighters Assist Mariposa County Residents in Jerseydale Return Back to Their Homes
