‘Hey, this is beyond me’
A Nelson man whose house is still standing after the massive wildfire is determined to find the firefighters who worked through the night to protect his home.
Guy Mollett said he had a ‘‘pretty sleepless night’’ at a friend’s home after his family were evacuated from their Redwood Valley home on Tuesday night.
After police gave notice to move out his family evacuated about 7pm, but Mollett remained to do what he could to protect the property.
‘‘I stayed back for another hour to damp down what I could, just knowing that the embers were probably what was going to destroy the place.’’
He hosed down the wood piles and the grass around the immediate property, anything he thought would catch fire easily.
When Mollett began to feel the heat of the fire, he knew it was time to go. The police officer returned and told him it was time to get out.
‘‘That was the point I said, hey this is beyond me.’’
He took a photo as he left the property, certain that the next photo he took would be of its charred remains.
Standing at the bottom of the hill, he watched the flames roll over the hill.
‘‘That’s when you really felt how serious it was at that point.’’
He said the police and fire crews had been ‘‘fantastic’’ and he had heard some pretty amazing stories of how firefighters had saved homes in the valley.
It was amazing to see where they had stopped the fire.
‘‘It must have been horrendous for them, when you saw the fire come over the hill, if they were still up in that, hat’s off to them.
‘‘I’m determined to find out who they are.’’