Weary Firefighters Continue To Battle Mother Nature's Fury

REDDING (CBS SF) -- The images are frightening. A wall of flames 50-feet high roaring toward a Redding subdivision. Diabolical fire tornados whipping up massive columns of flame and embers.

But through it all, the thousands of firefighters along the miles and miles of fire lines in California have countered Mother Nature's fury with a mixture of bravery, courage, determination and compassion.

The price has been high.

Bulldozer operator Braden Varney, a 36-year-old father of two; Redding fire Fire inspector Jeremy Stoke and Arrowhead Interagency Hotshots fire captain Brian Hughes have died fighting the fires. Dozens of others - including Marin County firefighters Scott Pederson, Tyler Barnes, and Brian Cardoza -- have suffered injuries.

Pederson, Barnes and Cardoza were members of an 18-man strike force that had driven hours to join in the battle to tame the Carr Fire which had grown to 110,154 acres and was 27 percent contained by early Tuesday.

The blaze has destroyed 884 residences -- many in Redding neighborhoods -- and damaged another 169. It could have even been more destructive without an all-out effort by firefighters to halt its advance into the city of about 92,000 residents.

The three Marin firefighters were burned after being on duty for nearly 24 straight hours and protecting a home in Shasta.

"There was a sudden wind shift," said Marin County Fire Battalion Chief Bret McTigue "The fire front was coming in one direction and then changed. That caught some pine trees that were adjacent to the property on fire and that blasted the firefighters with a severe amount of heat."

Knowing the deadly dangers, the firefighters still march back to the fire lines to battle the wildfires for every precious inch of real estate.

The words of Madera-Mariposa-Merced Unit Chief Nancy Koerperich at Varney's memorial service summed up what makes these heroes of this fiery July so special.

"The crews and fire captains fought the steep terrain and lovingly passed him out, hand-over-hand, from his resting spot to bring him out of the ravine," she told the gathering. "Firefighters knew what was at stake. They knew it was dangerous. The fire was coming. But that's what firefighters do."

So far the city of Lakeport has been spared from the advancing flames of the Mendocino Complex Fire. Still, a majority of the 5,000 residents remain in evacuation centers.

"It looks a lot better than when we left," Mike VanRosenberg told KPIX 5. "It looks like they (the firefighters) are getting a big time handle on it. God bles those guys. They are working hard."

By Tuesday morning, the Mendocino Complex Fire -- a combination of the Ranch and River widlfires in Mendocino and Lake counties -- had grown to a combined 74,408 acres, was 10 percent contained, had destroyed 7 homes and was threatening another 12,200.

Among those offering a thank you to the weary firefighters was 2-year-old daughter Gracie Lutz, who handed out burritos to firefighters battling the Carr Fire on Monday.

"We just wanted to show our support for them," said her mother, Chelsey.

Hailey Root's father helping fight the Carr Fire. She made a poster and nearly 100 chocolate chip cookies for first responders to show her appreciation.

"I felt that even something as small as a poster or cookies would bring some happiness into this hard time," Root told CNN.

Many of the colorful handmade signs peppering the roadways in Northern California have been made by children. Redding resident Nichole Grubbs-Miller said that she and her sister's kids came together to make posters thanking the first responders that saved their hometown.

"My sister and brother and I were all born and raised in Redding and our kids have been too," she said. "We wanted to show our gratitude for fighting to save our city."

Grubbs-Miller says that community members are all looking for ways to help in the wake of the fire's destruction, and are donating, volunteering and offering displaced families food and shelter.

"There is an unexplainable amount of grief in our city, but also an unexplainable amount of love," she said. "There are no words for it."

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