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About Keizertimes. (Salem, Or.) 1979-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 5, 2018)
PAGE5A4,5KEIZERTIMES,5JANUARY55,52018 KeizerCommunity KEIZERTIMES.COM Keizer Fire back from California By DEREK WILEY Of the Keizertimes If 10 years ago someone had told Mike Jensen that he would one day drive a fi re truck near- ly 1,000 miles to California to help with a wildfi re, he would have said they were crazy. But that’s exactly where Jensen and three other Keizer fi refi ghters, Bill Herring, Matt Dryden and Aaron Pitts, found themselves on Dec. 8, assisting with what would become the largest wildfi re in the state’s history. The Thomas Fire began on December 4 at 6:28 p.m. to the north of Santa Paula, Calif., near Steckel Park and Thom- as Aquinas College, 70 miles northwest of Los Angeles. That evening, the small brush fi re exploded in size, thanks to 60 mile per hour Santa Ana winds, and raced through the rugged mountain terrain. KFD, as part of a Marion County task force that also in- cluded fi refi ghters from Silver- ton, Salem and Woodburn, left for California on Dec. 5. By the time they arrived to the Ventura County Fair- grounds on the morning of Dec. 7, the fi re had grown to more than 115,000 acres. “Where we stayed at in the Ventura County Fairgrounds, because it’s right there in the heart of town, you can literally see on the hillside where the fi re had burned down and into the edge of the town,” Jensen said. “It was pretty incredible. It’s not something we typically see in Oregon where it gets so close to a big city like that.” Their fi rst day of work, which mostly included pro- tecting homes and schools in the Ojai Valley by patrolling the area, putting out hot spots and clearing any dry brush that We are Everything Except Overpriced could catch fi re, was Dec. 8. “There was a lot of be- ing there in case the fi re came close to people’s homes to try to prevent it,” Herring said. The crew worked 24 hours on and then 24 hours off. But their off time was mostly spent cleaning equipment, eating and sleeping. “Cal fi re is really good at wild land fi refi ghting where we’re primarily structure fi re- fi ghters so we’re really good at that,” Jensen said. “They basi- cally utilize where your strong points are.” Herring said any photos taken of the fi re, which by Dec. 19, when the Oregon State Fire Mobilization Strike Teams began departing, had grown to more than 270,000 acres, didn’t do it justice. “Until you’re up close and actually see it, the magnitude of it, the fi re is impressive in a photo but until you see the size of the area and how far it had to travel and the total destruc- tion in front of you, the photos don’t sum it up,” Herring said. Jensen won’t forget the sound. “One morning the fi re had crested the ridge and then had burned through an area, we were a quarter mile or half a mile away and it was just in- credibly loud,” Jensen said. “It was like a freight train moving through.” Jensen and Herring were impressed by the multi-million Submitted Keizer5Firefi5ghters5Aaron5Pitts,5Bill5Herring,5Matt5Dryden5and5Mike5Jensen5spent5two5weeks5in5December5protecting5homes5in5 Southern5California5from5the5Thomas5Fire.5 dollar homes they were pro- tecting. “It’s like all of the homes that you see on HGTV but you never in your lifetime get to visit them,” Jensen said. “One of the last days, we sat at a house for instructional protection and they had an in- fi nity pull overlooking a cliff and you could see right into the ocean,” Herring said. The people were also thankful. “The residents of California were super grateful and super friendly,” Herring said. “It was cool to see that. Random peo- ple would come by camp and offer treats or clean socks, little things you take for granted.” As of Jan. 3, the Thomas Fire had burned 281,893 acres but was 92 percent contained. It had destroyed 1,063 structures and damaged 280. Simple Cremation $795 Inexpensive Burial and Funeral Options WINTER Pre-Planning Available WARM UP On-Site Crematory SALES EVENT 4365 RIVER RD N, KEIZER 503.393.7037 Se habla español Find Your Dream Fireplace COME SEE US TODAY! As an Energy Trust of Oregon trade ally, we can help you access cash incentives to make it easier to improve your home’s energy effi ciency. Let us handle the rest THE SPRINGS at SUNNYVIEW INDEPENDENT LIVING 1950 45th Ave NE , Salem | 503-589-1200 THE WOODS at WILLOWCREEK TheSpringsLiving.com ASSISTED LIVING & MEMORY CARE 4398 Glencoe St NE , Salem | 503-581-4239 Sam Goesch Ins Agcy Inc Sam Goesch CLU, Agent 1695 Market St NE, Salem CCB#48630 • 503.364.6339 homefi restove.com salemgrill.com 3975 River Road North Keizer, OR 97303 Bus: 503-393-6252 State Farm , Bloomington, IL 1211999
