Close to Home: A chilling tour of fire’sdestruction

Last week, I visited the impact area of the Valley fire in Lake County.

Driving over Mount. St. Helena and dropping into Middletown was devastating. The smell of smoke and charcoal reached us first, followed by black fields and burned power lines. Main Street was quiet and intact, but just two blocks west or east off the main drag brought us directly into the heartbreak of home after home burned to the ground; blown up propane tanks; cars melted down to the street and nobody in sight.

We continued toward Lower Lake and came across a veritable army of PG&E people working furiously to rebuild our base level infrastructure — power and telephone service. They were working on a transformer in front of the damaged sign for Hidden Valley Lake, a community that was selectively ravaged by the fires. I say 'selectively' because of the astonishing way in which the fire cauterized one or another house yet left a neighboring site untouched. One couldn't help but get the chills to see this heartbreak juxtaposed against the multitude of handwritten signs on fences, thanking firefighters for their courage and service.

We continued toward Lakeport where we met our hosts for the rest of the visit. Lake County Supervisor Rob Brown, Rep. Mike Thompson (along with Brad Onorato, his district director) and Lakeport Mayor Martin Scheel. They picked up Sonoma County Fire Chief Al Terrell and I, and we headed up Bottle Rock Road toward the small community of Anderson Springs.

I was immediately struck by Brown's knowledge of every nook of this area as we drove past his home and then came up to a roadblock. His district covers much of the impact area and abuts my district where the fire spread into The Geysers. He knew all the officers, who allowed us to pass through, and we headed up the mountain.

In the midst of sharing the travesty of his own community with us, we stopped at two different houses so that the supervisor could run errands for friends who weren't allowed access to the road yet. We first stopped at a house where he shut off the power to protect against any danger once the electricity came back online. We then pulled up to a second house, where he went inside and picked up reading glasses for a friend down the hill. At each spot, he let out a sigh of pure relief when he realized that those houses were undamaged — and he therefore wouldn't have to return to Lakeport with bad news, the kind of news I'm sure he has had to deliver far too often this week.

We drove over downed wires and past a community outreach sign unscathed advising people to 'Protect your homes and property from wildfires.' We continued past Socrates Road, very close to the site where the fire started, where a car sat practically melted into the roadway. It was only a few miles further before we turned onto the small road for Anderson Springs.

The destruction levied on this community was jaw-dropping. Brown described this community as historically a vacation home area where people had moved in full time over the years while retaining the mountainside character. This small canyon, full of quaint houses just a week ago, now lies in rubble and ash. The only things left standing are chimneys, pots for plants, melted washing machines and cobblestone foundations. We came across a fire engine at the end of the road from Sonoma County — Lakeville, and were heartened to shake hands with a few of our firefighters who were assessing damage and identifying risk areas.

By this time, the rain was coming down steadily, but you could still see all of the small spot fires and hot spots trying to fight to stay lit, seeking more fuel to burn.

Full of humility at this point, we headed back toward Lakeport. On the way, Supervisor Brown said, 'This is only the start. We need to start from scratch up here, but we can't even begin that process until this fire is completely out and we get all of this damage and waste out of here.'

We returned to our vehicle, said our goodbyes to our hosts and headed back west toward Hopland. On the way, we grabbed a bite to eat in Lakeport at a local restaurant. As we walked in, the full restaurant turned and looked at us. Upon seeing Terrell standing beside me in his uniform, they all stood up and began applauding. It didn't matter to them who he was, or whether he had been fighting the fire first-hand or organizing support behind the scenes, they were just so sincerely thankful and proud of our men and women in uniform.

I am struck by that final moment.

I want all of you to join me in honoring our firefighters as they continue to lead us through this crisis. I also want you all to join me in making a longstanding commitment to help our Lake County neighbors rebuild their lives. We cannot only care about this Valley fire for this instant. It is our community responsibility to offer sustained and determined assistance for as long as it takes.

James Gore represents the 4th District on the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors.