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California Fires

October 30, 2006 6:11 PM

Correspondent Miguel Marquez blogs about covering the Esperanza fire:

I have to admit, I like covering fires. The power and ferocity of fire is fascinating. Add to that the incredible drama that comes along with hundreds or thousands of people and their homes threatened. It can get the adrenaline pumping. The Esperanza fire -- that’s Spanish for “hope” -- broke out in the very early hours last Thursday. It’s been quite an unexpected ride since then. (At left, a NASA photo of the fire.)

When people die, and in particular firefighters, covering a fire takes on a dark urgency. It was clear something was wrong from the get go. I was out the door a few hours after the fire started. When I talked to the public information officer around 7:30 am last Thursday she was uncharacteristically confused about where the fire was burning, how big it was, and what the weather was going to do. If there is one thing that fire officials do well in California it’s getting information to the media and the public. Things just weren’t right.

When we heard the initial reports that two firefighters may have been killed then the news broke that a third had died and finally a fourth it was a shock. I see experienced wildland firefighters operate every year. They know fire and how it acts in different environments. It is hard to imagine what happened out there and how they could have been caught out. The winds were extraordinary that morning. From what every official has told me on and off the record these guys did everything right and still they died.

Now that the fire is winding down, the base camp for this fire has become a glum place. The sadness and pain, as firefighters head home, is palpable. All their adrenaline and energy has been spent on containing the fire. Now there is just raw and weary emotion. It’s affecting to see some of these veteran guys who I’ve known for years just break down, hug and cry.

The weather is turning colder and wetter. The end of the fire season is just around the corner. Authorities are certain they will catch whoever set this fire. Life will return to a more normal pace in places like Banning, Poppet Flats, and Idyllwild. The pain of the Esperanza fire will fade. But seeing the tears rolling from firefighters’ eyes leaves me with the distinct impression that the names of those who died will be written into history. They did after all die in a fire named “hope.”

October 30, 2006 | Permalink | Share | User Comments (1)

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Posted by: Lamar Cole | Nov 13, 2006 5:23:34 PM

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