PALOMAR RANCH SAVED BY CDF FIREFIGHTERS by Rosie Lopresti
It was the third night of The Fire of '99. Saturday night, October 2nd. The phone rang. My longtime and close friend, Rosalinda Stevenson was concerned about the fire on our mountain. We spoke about the fire and reminisced about the fires of '87 and '89.
Rosalinda, Ruth Berry and Shraddha Knight were holding vigil at Ruth's home in Escondido. Steve was on the mountain to help his good friend, Bill Druliner work with the firefighters. They were hoping to save the Druliner family property, Palomar Ranch.
Rosalinda stated she was worried about her husband Tim. He is a California Division of Forestry Captain who was working on the Palomar Mountain Fire. Rosalinda was concerned. She had not had contact with Tim since he left for the fire three days prior. She had no idea where he was assigned. Glued to her scanner, it gave her reports of Engines being told to leave certain areas due to the danger.
On Sunday night Rosalinda received a call from Tim; he was assigned to the Druliner's Palomar Ranch! He had spent Friday and Saturday with Bill Druliner and Steve Barry! We believe this was much more than a coincidence. Of the 1500 firefighters, Tim was right there with his personal expertise assisting our very dear friends.
Several local CDF engines had been stationed at the Druliner Ranch on Friday afternoon. They were ordered out of the area due to the dangerous conditions. The ranch homes are tucked way down in a steep canyon. With lots of pristine forest and beautiful vegetation growing close to the many structures it was very difficult and dangerous to defend from fire. Later that day Druliners were told that the houses could not be saved. Rather than giving up completely, the USFS Incident Commander, Ralph Daminski, asked if their were any volunteers to go down to the ranch. The following volunteers stepped forward: CDF Engines 3389 and 3397 from Valley Center; Engine 3381 from Deer Springs; and 3377 and 3379 from Rincon. Firelines were cut around Druliner's property. Captain Stevenson even told his crew to cut a line around an antique power wagon that Tim was sure must be valuable. Valuable to someone who likes old vehicles, that is ... now, isn't that most all of us here on the mountain?
Engine 3379 backfired from East Grade Road and then the other 4 engines backfired from Palomar Ranch, saving it and the Antique power wagon, of course, from the ravenous fire.
Some names I was able to gather for those involved at the Palomar Ranch were Anthony Waters, Anthony Mendoza, Dan Dominguez, Chris Moore, Eric Winkler, Melissa Kelly, Steve Boucher, Carl Coltress, Kathy Gibbons, Cesar Nerey and Ray Rapue.
I asked Rosalinda why Tim had volunteered for the mission. She explained that Tim had said to himself that he knew he could help save it. I spoke with Captain Ray Rapue from the Rincon crew. I expressed gratitude for his work on the Palomar Mountain Fire. He stated, "I was just doing my job". I also complimented Tim who responded with "I'm not out there to be a hero. I was just doing my job."
Maybe the firefighters are not out there to be heroes, but that is what they are! To all the Heros of the Fire of '99, we are most grateful!
Rosie Lopresti