Thanksgiving

Through the fire I had a list of “yeah’s” with things that you can never have too many of: like flashlights, cash, fuel in the truck, and most of all, you can never have too many friends.

First of all, thanks to all of you who come today to share food and friendship.  The winds are with us bringing us closer together for warmth.  The winds remind me of the start of the Alpine Fire a couple of years ago when friends Beth Anne and Shawn Doblado called for help to evacuate their horses.  As a symbol of connection to the earth and a symbol to carry you forward with good fortune and especially as a symbol of the horse that brings so many of us together, we’d like to give a gift of a horseshoe starting with Shawn and Beth Anne who represent all the people who went through this recent fire thinking of each other and hoping for the best.  Next a horseshoe for my father and his friend Pop and Geri who froze fingers helping get the meat ready for the deep pit which has fed us. Thanks to Scott and Becki Vowles for the meat. Rita Gallant and Prado restaurant for the yummy potatoes.  Bud Baker and Carolyn Elledge for the desserts.  Jill and Bill Harris for the rolls. Special thanks to Vickie, Murph and Jill for helping set up.

We have Oakzanita Ranch vests for outstanding actions by some of our boarders.  We realize that each and every Oakzanita Ranch boarder was with us in spirit and would have been here to help if they could have been.  Their gift to us was their confidence and faith in us to take care of their horses.

Our story starts with Fred Cluskey coming for the Rancho Samataguma Los Senderos party and having no idea what he was getting into!  None of us did.  Fred became an essential component to the success of our journey, from hauling horses (and boy did he haul horses, ours and others), a can of diesel as my truck was getting low, patient help in loading horses, magical appearance of buckets and buckets and buckets, and calm help with absolutely anything that Bernie needed or wanted.  Early Sunday morning we receive a call from Patricia and Robert Vitiello fleeing their Eucalyptus Hills home and they stayed with us to the end, returning several times, Robert always there whenever I needed anything, Patricia helping in selecting items to evacuate and especially cleaning the Manzanita dirt from our camper.  Then came the call from Sondra and Daniel Patrick literally fleeing the flames from Blossom Valley.  Refugee families the Hudders and Shaffers arrived later from Alpine.  Laurie Hudder manned the phones, Katie and Dave did whatever I asked, staying through the move to Manzanita. Ron Shaffer was awesome; he’s a mind reader, at least he could read my mind, apparating whenever I began a thought of needing to do something, anything. 

Our fire refugees ate together on Sunday night and just bedded down to receive the call at 2:00 a.m. from our sentries on Viejas Grade, the Lashmets, Hoodys, and Vickie Cottle’s family that the fire was coming.  Time to move over 50 horses to Pine Valley.  John Sedberry was one of the men that was ready, able and available for whatever I needed.  Vickie Cottle fed everyone with food and emotional sustenance, organizing the welcome party, and it was a party, when we later made our way to Manzanita Horse Camp. The Cottleberrys later provided fencing to temporarily repair burnt fencing.

Lad Hurd arrived early to help load horses.  And we moved more than 50 horses (45 from Oakzanita and 6 from Bud’s). Bud and Carolyn our neighbors and friends through it all.  After all the horses were moved safely to Pine Valley, Chuck Gallant arrived with borrowed trailer to help us move horses and, with Ron’s help, loaded up the boarders’ tack, our tack and items from our house, which the “twins” Ron and Chuck apparated (my favorite word) to unload on the other end of the fire.  Rita Gallant joined the group at Manzanita and later graced our home with the most beautiful fragrant flowers.

Cherie and Britt and their staff of Pine Creek Stables welcomed us and our horses in the early morning hours, caring for the needs of our horses and providing a place to rest with many others from near and far.  The wellbeing of us and our horses were their prime concern.  Cherie is the ever-ready bunny and Britt lightens the load.

Camped together with us in Pine Valley were John and Belinda Benson , Joe Eggert, Terry and Charlene Brown who shared food and support. Bob Eswege arrived with the good news that his house in Crest survived and as always he was ready to lend a hand or provide whatever was needed; he kept apparating also in Manzanita (I say apparate because roads were closed, people were stuck with us and couldn’t get home, but Bob would appear).  Deborah Silverstone arrived in Pine Valley to give emotional support and ended up, as her way home was closed, on the Manzanita saga, providing much needed water she’d had yet to unload from Costco.  Dave Koeberle was at the ready for anything we needed and managed to make it out to Manzanita also. 

When it came time for us to leave Pine Valley and take our horses further east, Larry Martin DVM (who lost his Milk Ranch to the fire and can’t be here today) stood at the ready to help in any way and called out the cavalry.  El Cajon Mounted Police and Humane Society volunteers came to help move the horses (we couldn’t get sufficient fuel to move them ourselves).  Keith Anderson was our angel in the white shirt to get us where we needed to go.  Manzanita Horse Camp chief welcomed us with “I don’t want to find any money in the box” and “What do you need?”  David and Terry Howe and other evacuees helped get our horses settled.

Learning that amazingly our house still stood and celebrating others' good fortunes, we endured the wind and dust of Manzanita. Mike Hoody and Bernie took turns through the next night going around roadblocks to check out the progress of the fire. Thursday, Bernie made the call to move us on the other side of the fire and to get folks home. Two men were essential to coming home.   Danny Green, as has been said before, was “being Danny Green”, going around providing diesel and bringing us two of the prettiest generators I every did see!!  Craig Knox was there first thing in the morning and often late at night getting our electricity operating. 

Marty Jorgensen brought us news that our home had survived the fire and brought us ice and information. Jeff Lashmet was back to help with our well and be a fire advisor. Former boarder, Kip Taylor came with gas.  The Salvation Army and Red Cross came with offers of water and aid.  Friends from Garner Valley Dave and Pam Potter have come to help us restore the land. And an extra special thanks to our neighbor and friend Terry Brown for opening his ranch to our boarders for riding until the Park is open again.  Juan and Esther and Jose are the life blood of Oakzanita Ranch, rebuilding the fences and caring for the horses and helping set up for this party.

We had a home to come home to because of the incredible work and heroics of the firefighters.  Please ,all firefighters here stand up.  These are just some of the many courageous firefighters who saved the community of Descanso. Now you can clap!  The crew that saved our ranch is not able to be here so I’d like to read their account and thank them by name for all that they did.

Letter from Captain Matt Shannon CDF Engine 2676:

Thanks for the praise but Margy (chief Marshall) was right, thanks ARE enough. You and Bernie did a wonderful job at your ranch and you should be PROUD. If I had the power, I would hold up your oasis for all to see, This is how a home in the wildland should be kept. As we arrived at your home my first thought was WOW, I like this place.

We thought we had about 30 minutes before the fire hit us, so we started to work. Fall two trees at the propane tank (Robert Chesnick). move firewood (Jacobb Burgess) move outdoor furniture (Me) pull two fire hoses (Jeremy Thomas). Margy arrived to see how we were doing and, as I did, she said "WOW!"

That all took less than ten minutes, about that time we realized that the fire was almost on us so I had Jeremy start firing from the hill behind the house and move north and east towards highway 79 and stop about 50 feet past your house. In my thirty four years I have never seen the likes of the fire storm that developed about ten minutes later. The back fire worked great and burned towards the main fire. All of a sudden a fire whirl at least 100 feet tall came out of the main fire and came straight for the back of your house.  Jake, ( a first year firefighter) and I backed between the engine and the house knowing that our hoses would not stop this monster. We backed to within ten feet of the back door when it turned head towards the east right over the propane tank, so Jake and I advanced the hose to keep it cool. When the whirl hit the power pole behind the house the wires were instantly wound together and the pole was incinerated. We all did a walk around to check the house. Within a few minutes the fire came towards the carport and Robert and Jeremy from the west.  What seemed like hours was only minutes.

I have to say I have a great crew that follow orders and NEVER hesitated to do what was needed. All that said, we could NOT have done it if your place had been less that it was. If the fire storm had the fuel to feed it, we would have been in a near-death situation. We would have had to use your house as a refuge just to save our lives.

Tell Larry Lewis (a firefighter friend who a couple of years before the fire guided Bernie on a program to thin brush around the property) that he did good and you were smart to follow his sage advice

I took three firefighters to San Diego, to fires that were burning in epic proportions, and promised myself that if nothing else I would bring them home safely, Your home helped me keep that promise. Keep up the good work.

love Matt

p.s after all that work Bernie gets a day off...

Thanks also to CDF Engine 4476 for watching out for us:  putting out spot fires and watering our thirsty horses.

Many have lost so much in this fire. Please lets take a moment of silence to bring them into our hearts. It was a special privilege to have experienced this fire and how it brought so many people together and continues to.  We now have the special privilege of watching our community and, especially near and dear to us, this beautiful Cuyamaca State Park, rebuild and grow in new ways.

My most special thanks I’ve saved for last, but Bernie is first, last and always my most wonderful loving partner in this adventure of life which is mine.