October 16, 2017

"One deputy's rescue efforts late Sunday night and early Monday morning in the Mark West area during the Tubbs Fire."



Sonoma Sheriff Robert Giordano said: "I think it really tells the story of how dangerous and how difficult the event was. It’s absolutely human and it’s very real and very honest and transparent."

16 comments:

Yancey Ward said...

I have seen a few of these videos over the years- sphincter tighening even though I am safely ensconced at home.

Earnest Prole said...

Hurricane meets blast furnace. Here's one near my neck of the woods. The fire sucks the oxygen from the air.

The Bergall said...

I lived in Napa in the late 80's. Been there and done that. I recall waking @ 2 am smelling smoke. Looked out the window and saw the whole Vaca mountain range (that's the East side of the valley) up in flames.

Old friend lives in Glen Ellen, the wind direction shifted and he was spared. Others not so lucky.

mockturtle said...

What a nightmare! And the smoke! I almost got an asthma attack just watching it.

Yancey Ward said...

My neighbor's house burned down when I was, I think, 8 or 9 years old. The heat from 200 feet away was something I have never forgotten.

Fernandinande said...

Goat-Herding[sic] Dog Refused To Abandon Flock Amid Firestorm, Miraculously[sic] Survived

“Even under the best of circumstances it is nearly impossible to separate Odin from the goats after nightfall when he takes over the close watch from his sister Tessa,” Hendel wrote. “I made a decision to leave him, and I doubt I could have made him come with us if I tried.”

“We were able to make it back to the smoldering wasteland ...

But suddenly, the goats appeared and raced toward the family. And there was Odin — fur burned, whiskers melted, limping on his right leg. The battle injuries suffered in his desperate fight with the flames.

During the firestorm Odin not only protected his flock, he also seems to have adopted several baby deer who were huddled around him for safety.

Fernandinande said...

Yancey Ward said...
The heat from 200 feet away was something I have never forgotten.


The heat is my main memory of forest-fire-fighting, after the helicopter rides - yikes! And a guy who got nailed by slurry.

Ann Althouse said...

"Hurricane meets blast furnace. Here's one near my neck of the woods. The fire sucks the oxygen from the air."

I saw that one the other day but chose not to blog it because why were those guys making a video and why didn't they leave earlier?

In the one I've embedded, you have a cop doing a dangerous job while wearing a body cam.

Dust Bunny Queen said...

Odin not only protected his flock, he also seems to have adopted several baby deer who were huddled around him for safety.

Who's a Good Boy?

ODIN

That's who!!

FullMoon said...

As of six days ago, 3500 homes and business destroyed. Most still have mortgage payments to make. Insurance covers cost to rebuild home, which is probably less than homes actual value. So, homeowners still have mortgage payment, no check big enough to buy another home, most clothes and belongings destroyed, difficulty getting to work and no place to live.

Same goes for flood and hurricane destruction. Gonna be bankruptcy, suicides, broken families, PTSD, misery for years to come.

Meade said...

Dear Sonoma County Sister Who We Haven’t Heard Back From Going On 10 Years Now,
If you see this blog post, please — just a word or two that you’re okay.
Thank you.
— your Midwest brother who will always care

Earnest Prole said...

I saw that one the other day but chose not to blog it because why were those guys making a video and why didn't they leave earlier?

I have no explanation for why kids do the things they do with video these days, but I can tell you that for many Californians last week, their first sign of the fire was looking out their window in the middle of the night and seeing a thirty-foot wall of flames advancing on them faster than they could run. This particular video was shot in a rural area where houses are far apart down gravel roads through groves of tinder-dry trees. My son told me the wind went from nothing to fifty mph that night, knocking out power lines and connection to the outside world.

David said...

He was agitated but kept his wits and kept thinking and problem solving under great stress. Well done, sir.

The Godfather said...

The cop car video made me think of the first responders on 9/11, some of whom died going UP the stairs when the towers came down. Alan Jackson's song, "Where Were You When The World Stopped Turning", refers to them as "The heroes who died just doing what they do." I pray for the safety of the police and firefighters in California.

Rusty said...

Sheriff Bob has big balls. At least fire fighter have equipment.


Earnest Prole said...
Those canyons and ravines are just like chimneys.

0_0 said...

The wind on the night of the 8th started late and was very dry- below 10% humidity. When I went to bed that night, everything was normal. We woke up in a disaster area.

The fires are still going, but firefighters are preventing fires spreading to populated areas. The wilderness burning is still making the air brown, and eyes burn.