Firefighters weary, but undaunted

Strike teams work through exhaustion on the east side|

On Sunday, Oct. 15, day seven of the fires that have ravished the Valley, all over Sonoma’s east side there are tired firefighters and ’dozer guys. Packing up gear. Resting on a rig. Waiting for orders to a new hot spot or vegetation fire.

Shortly after sunup, Brian, from Paso Robles, is loading his bulldozer onto a very long steel flat bed by the side of the road. He has been here since Thursday, ringing houses, driving firebreaks, pushing roads. “Sometimes,” Brian says, “you are sitting high up on that dozer and the flames come close. You just have to figure it out.”

Down the dusty road, Tony Kloepping, all the way from Oregon, is repairing equipment.

“I’m just a cowboy on a steel horse I ride,” he proclaims with a cheery grin over his Bon Jovi reference. This is a man who loves his work. Once a logger in the fir forests of Oregon, he now drives bulldozers. “We just do what we do; we love to help people,” he says.

Groups of tired firefighters from Tahoe, Merced, Fresno, Los Baños gather around their engines, catching a break while the air, for a change, is clear and cool. The lives of these strike team members seems to be standing around, ready, waiting, punctuated by moments of action and thrill when called.

From Rohnert Park, engineer Jon Kempf is resting against his rig. Coming off a 24-hour shift, he is about to go home to watch a Packers game, and then sleep. Kempf drives a Type 1 engine assigned to structure protection. These firefighters feel very supported by our community, and one crew even received a visit from a group of masseurs who provided much-needed deep back massages.

At Schell-Vista Fire Station 2 at Napa and 8th Street East, there is a Type 3 strike team from Tuolumne County. Coming off the Tubbs Fire before this, they are working containment lines, watering flare-ups, and staying vigilant.

Cal Fire Captain Kittina Simmons describes their day: Base camp at Santa Rosa Fairgrounds to get a briefing at 7 a.m., then they move out to meet with their division for a smaller briefing. This morning they are assigned to mopping up around structures on the northeast side to minimize chances of rekindling.

“When that is secured,” Simmons says with confidence, “we can repopulate the area.”

The Fallen Leaf strike team seems to have played a significant part in saving Buena Vista Winery, the “epicenter of the California wine industry.” Two young firefighters, tired but happy, point out how the fire burned to within 6 feet of the historic stone structure. Nineteenth century winery founder Agoston Haraszthy himself would have been grateful for their work.

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