Tahoe Mountain News -- Angora overview

This is the unedited version of the overview story published in the July issue of the Tahoe Mountain News:

By Kathryn Reed

No amount of ink can do justice to coverage of one of the most far-reaching disasters to hit the South Shore of Lake Tahoe.
Everyone has a story to tell about the Angora Fire, whether they lost all worldly possessions, evacuated and returned to everything intact, to those working the fire lines, to those who couldn’t stop working even though their friends and colleagues were suffering, to those who only smelled the smoke.

Tahoe Mountain-North Upper Truckee

Sirens roared through South Lake Tahoe shortly after 2 p.m. June 24. The arsenal of fire suppression was not enough to spare the homes in the North Upper Truckee area where the 3,100-acre blaze originated.
Seneca Pond, a poplar place for locals to bike and hike, is where the remnants of an illegal campfire were found. Three other illegal campgrounds were found nearby, but outside the fire area, according to Forest Service spokesman Rex Norman.
Before the point of origin was discovered 254 homes had been reduced to ash. Several outbuildings like garages and sheds were consumed as well. No commercial structures vanished.
It was fully contained on July 2.
“I didn’t have time to get anything. Three-hundred foot flames were behind me on Mount Rainier and Upper Truckee,” said Grizzly Mountain resident Ron Eames, 45, who was getting a bite to eat at St. Theresa Catholic Church on June 25. He sat there not knowing if his home was spared. “There were spot fires all around the houses in that area. I was kinda scared and I don’t get scared easily.”
Lake Tahoe Community College computer programmer Jim Patterson was there the day after the fire started communing with friends who were as devastated he was. The 65-year-old’s home on Mount Rainier was gone.
“When I rebuild, my wife’s ashes are going to be part of the foundation,” Patterson said. He didn’t have time to retrieve her remains before he fled with his granddaughter.
Residents trickled in to the burn area throughout the week to see what was left. Anxiously they waited at checkpoints to go up with a police escort.
Coding is put on windshields of people being let in. See those white numbers around town – it’s someone displaced by the fire.
Relief, despair, anger, joy, shock. An emotional roller coaster is how many describe the aftermath.
Potholes riddle Boulder Mountain Drive. Chimneys are like eyesores. Charred, twisted metal is like something out of bad car accident – only worse. Black is everywhere.
“They said this was going to go for years. I heard this thing burned 100 acres an hour. That is romping,” said Cathy Gregory with CDF out of Parlin Fork near Mendocino. She and her crew were on Boulder Mountain June 29 to douse flare-ups. This fire was bitter sweet for her because much of the year she lives in South Lake Tahoe.
Swing sets rock in a gentle breeze on Cone Road. A bear-proof canister just needs garbage. But no residence exists to create rubbish. A barbecue looks cooked. A basketball hoop won’t get much action – no house, so no children to play.
Lake Valley Fire Station at Lake Tahoe Boulevard and Boulder Mountain awaits the next event.
Red fire retardant has stained streets and structures.
A trampoline on Clear View sits idle. A shed is melted next to a standing house. A fire hydrant no longer has a purpose. Whole lawns are green.
Don Bagley, a line worker foreman out of Reno with Sierra Pacific, is in the neighborhood replacing downed poles. In all, 120 were rendered useless.
“It’s slow work,” he said.
“For sale” signs litter the neighborhood. There’s nothing left to sell.
Tahoe Mountain is eerily quiet. No longer is it a beautiful drive. Everywhere it’s black. It’s hard to call it a forest. But homes on top were spared.
On Lake Tahoe Boulevard folks are returning for the first time on June 29.
“I got his flag,” Kitty Babb, 79, said through tears in reference to the most important item she fled with. The flag was given to her at her husband Bob’s funeral at Arlington National Cemetery a few years ago.
Her grandson, Ben Babb, sifts through debris. Mugs she had gotten while her husband was stationed in Germany in 1952 survived, as did a few other items.
“I won’t rebuild,” Babb said. She’s going to Minden to be with her son.
Eric Arnoldi, 28, lifted a metal filing cabinet. Instead of pulling out papers, he pulled out ash.
His roommate Billy Elder, 34, uses a burned off rake from the horseshoe pit to comb through the pile of gunk.
“The insurance company is forcing me to rebuild,” Arnoldi said. He had wanted to cash out so he could own the lot outright. Instead he will take the insurance company’s money for temporary housing and have the firm pay for a new house.
This property on Lake Tahoe Boulevard is near Eagle Lane – where some houses are erect, others are disaster zones.
No logic seems to exist for what burned and what didn’t. Defensible space helped, but it was not enough in some cases.

What it was like on Gardner Mountain

A sense of calm took over the town on June 26. Even at the afternoon press briefing everyone said things were under control – or least going as expected. A quick drive across town to Gardner Mountain found the scene the opposite of the calm at Heavenly Mountain Resort. Gardner Mountain was like being in a wind tunnel.
While much of town was feeling relieved, nerves on Gardner Mountain were singed as each wisp of wind got more brisk. It brought not only ash descending like a soft dirty rain, but fear.
Just one-quarter of mile in from the houses on Gardner Street was a staging area with about a dozen fire vehicles. Hand crews were farther up. Chain saws could be heard taking down snags at 2:38 p.m.
Orange, black, red – the colors kept changing. Suddenly the flames were in the treetops racing downhill. It roared like a freight train. Wind swirled. The fire was a live and screaming. Smoke was suffocating. Trees fell. Hiking boots can only put out so many spot fires. Small critters scurry to find that no shelter exists.
Suddenly the fire crews start fleeing at 2:48 p.m. A news crew runs out. The Mountain News reporter squirms and the publisher keeps shooting photos.
A California Highway Patrol officer goes through the streets to issue a mandatory evacuation. Some stay, some go.
A water tender soaks the front of homes on Gardner Street backing the dense forest.
A South Tahoe Public Utility District duo soaks their pump facility on Gardner Street and Sand Harbor Road.
A fire truck is in front of every house. Firefighters clear wood next to structures, climb ladders to take off pine needles.
A wall of fire leaps behind the residences.
Firefighters save each and every structure.
The Douglas fir, ponderosa pine and incense cedar are blackened statues standing erect in a landscape one would be hard pressed to describe as a forest.
Before all heck broke lose up there, Tim Robinson with the Placer Hills Fire Department in Auburn, said, “The ironic thing is we sat here all day (June 25) and people brought us pizza and cookies and thanked us for saving their houses. Now it will come to fruition to see if we really can save their house.”
And they did – and the signs around town thank everyone for all the efforts during that bleak week.

Tahoe Island-Tahoe Keys told to leave

Traffic on Eloise waiting to turn onto Tahoe Keys to get of town is stationary when the call came to leave the area on June 26. Drivers are going the wrong way to get to the Keys area.
Mayor Kathay Lovell is one who has to go from policymaker to evacuee. She could see flames from her house in the Tahoe Keys.
It only became mandatory for a few houses near Lukins, West, Venice and 15th streets. Nonetheless, Tahoe Keys Boulevard was a traffic nightmare as people streamed out of town or to safer enclaves on the South Shore.
A day later Sheriff Jeff Neves said his department would want people to go into Nevada if another evacuation notice came. If it were necessary, streets would be open to one-way traffic to expedite the evacuation.
Neighbors had a beer and toasted to friendship as they hosed down roofs, fences, trees and overgrown California Tahoe Conservancy lots.
Frantic phone calls were made.
What to take? One piece of advice was the laundry basket because those are the clothes you always wear.

Insurance issues

California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner and Lt. Gov. John Garamendi (who is the former insurance chief) were in town June 27 touting the need for people to take photos or video of their entire house and belongings. This includes closets and drawers.
Then send the footage to a friend or relative out of the area so it doesn’t disintegrate in the next disaster.
They stressed the need to revisit insurance policies every year to make sure the value of the structure and its contents are reflected in the amount of coverage a person has. However, insurance companies have issued a temporary moratorium here for doing so.
Garamendi, while Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger was in Europe, signed a proclamation declaring this area a state of emergency. It does not fit the criteria to be deemed a national disaster area.
Insurance companies were calling Tahoe homeowners the day of the fire offering assistance and leaving the policy number on voicemail.
Then they started showing up in mass at mobile centers. Many victims – renters and owners – had checks of either $5,000 or $10,000 within 24 hours to be used for immediate living expenses.
However, horror stories are being told of underinsured owners or renters with zero coverage.
The other concern is people looking to make a quick buck by scamming locals.
“Based on our experience there will be some bottom feeders, some snakes in the grass – people who are so-called adjusters,” said Hans Uthe, El Dorado County deputy district attorney.

Fire camp at Heavenly

Truckloads of supplies are necessary to feed and equip an army of firefighters. Pallets of shrink-wrapped fire hoses were lined up by thousands of bottles of water and Gatorade.
Heavenly Mountain Resort’s California Base Lodge parking lot was a bevy of activity for much of the week of June 25.
Television crews had big trucks in one corner. Media briefings were staged there.
Nearly every day at 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. about 10 fire officials briefed those on the front lines for what to expect. It ranged from safety issues like loose soil and snags, to fire conditions, the weather, how to get paid, to what channel to tune to for radio communications.
One night the medical chief warned of gastro-intestinal issues spreading through camp. He told the gang to do a better job of washing their hands.
One area was set up for the men and women to get their clothes washed.
Food was served buffet style. Tables under canopies lined one area for eating.
One day comedian and radio personality Howie Nave brought Cinnabons to the lodge.
To the right of the lodge, up a flight of stairs a slew of tents were pitched. Some were in the play area, others under the First Ride chairlift.
Steve Ryberg, 59, of Weaverville left his boots and socks by a table littered with half consumed water bottles. He was trying to get some shut-eye before taking over as the night operations chief.
“There’s a lot of work to do,” Ryberg said sitting up in his one-person tent on June 26. “The unique thing this early in the season is it’s unusual to have fuels consumed. Here you have a lot of consumption. There’s so much dead fuel up here.”

Inmates on the line

Prison inmates were part of the crew that helped battle the Angora Fire. Some did mop-up, some were on the front line.
Before they arrive on scene 67 hours of fire training are completed.
“They have separate tents they sleep in and a different shower time. They feed with everyone else,” said Cheryl Johnson of CDF who was about to drive a truck full of inmates to the fire.
During the day Cal Fire is in charge of the inmates, while at night the California Department of Corrections has custody.

Acts of kindness
• Many hotels – from small ones like Value Inn to large casinos – opened their doors for free to victims. The Black Bear Inn canceled paying customers in order to house local refugees. Owner Jerry Birdwell even married a couple. Other hotels had firefighters as guests.
• Cardinale Way auto dealership loaned vehicles to people who lost theirs in the fire.
• Several businesses have raised or collected money for victims – most fundraisers were the week of July 4. Many companies are setting up collections for the employees who’ve been displaced.
• Harrahs Lake Tahoe spokesman John Packer said musicians from across the country were calling wanting to help. He said some sort of benefit concert would definitely be staged in the near future. He said 207 of his employees were fire evacuees.
• Sixteen LTUSD employees lost their homes. STEA is collecting funds to help. Send to Angora Fire Fund, PO Box 13206, SLT, CA 96151 or contact Mike Patterson at coachpatterson@sbcglobal.net or (530) 545-1347.
• Angora Fire Relief Fund’s for Kirkwood employees displaced by the fire may be mailed to the Kirkwood Community Association, PO Box 158, Kirkwood, CA 95646. For more information about Kirkwood relief efforts, call (209) 258-6000 or go to www.kirkwood.com.
• The South Lake Tahoe Safeway is doubling each donation to the Angora Fire Fund – so $25 becomes $50. As of press time, no cutoff date had been set.
• Sierra-at-Tahoe is offering storage space for donated items because local entities are running out of room from the overflow of generosity.
• Heavenly Mountain Resort pledged $75,000 to relief efforts early on.
• The Locals for Locals Angora Fire Fund was set up by the chamber of commerce. Go to US Bank or mail donations to Locals for Locals Angora Fire Fund, PO Box 17640, South Lake Tahoe, CA 96151. The fund has nothing to do with regular chamber finances. Community leaders will disperse money in an attempt to fill needs not met by disaster relief agencies. Businesses wanting to give a percentage of their sales should contact Jana Ney Walker at (530) 544-6119 to participate in the Tahoe Businesses Who Care Program.
• For information about opening your home or finding one to stay in, call (775) 588-6616.
• Howie Nave said callers early on were asking for fans to suck out the smoke from houses.
• Signs are scattered throughout town thanking the crews which spared the area from what could have been a much more severe firestorm.
• At one community meeting a standing ovation and round of applause were given to the firefighters; at the third and final one on June 29 the same was done for everyone connected to the efforts to suppress the fire.
• Red Cross has U-haul trailers set up throughout the area with shovels, rakes and cases of bottled water for victims to take.
• Bert’s restaurant on June 29 had boxes of face masks in the lobby for the taking.
• Salvation Army’s disaster truck was helping folks at Lake Tahoe Boulevard and Sawmill Road.
• St. Theresa’s fed thousands.
• People brought up truckloads of supplies and donations from Tahoe City and the Bay Area.
• Wal-Mart came with a truck of supplies.
• Raley’s made sandwiches for fire crews. Raley’s in the Carson Valley was asking customers to donate to help feed firefighters.
• Noah’s Wish helped take care of domestic animals as did county Animal Control.
• Restaurants keep giving.
• Costco in the valley has an 18-inch deep container set up that people are dropping greenbacks into.
Cleary other acts of kindness and generosity have occurred and will continue to. It’s a testament to the compassion and resiliency of the South Shore.
Many people are jumpy with each siren that wails. Everyone is affected by this fire in some way. But the overwhelming sentiment is we are all in this together for the long haul.