Fire bringing out best in people
The Pier Fire broke out early Tuesday morning in the Tule River Canyon above Springville and the determination was quickly made to evacuate the mountain communities of Pierpoint Springs, Wishon, Doyle Springs, Alpine, Sequoia Crest, Cedar Slope, Mountain Aire (Rogers Camp), and Camp Nelson, and put Ponderosa on a voluntary evacuation.
In that first day the fire swelled to more than 4,000 acres and as of Friday afternoon was closing in on 7,000 acres.
It burned more than a 1,000 acres Thursday night and due to a change in the wind was being pushed down the canyon toward Springville. Early Friday morning, fire officials called for the mandatory evacuation of Upper Rio Vista and people living on Cow Mountain.
Mid-morning Friday, a voluntary evacuation was put in place for the small community of Springville.
At Thursday’s community meeting on the fire, California Interagency Management Team 5, which assumed command of the fire Wednesday night, told people it was going to be a long and arduous battle, and that the steep terrain, dead trees from years of drought and bark beetle infestation and the weather for reasons why they felt that way. The shift in wind overnight from up canyon to down canyon is what drove the fire toward Springville and away from the initial mountain communities under threat on the fire’s eastern edge. Right now, SCICON and Balch Park are safe, but as we’ve seen that can change quickly.
It’s a difficult time for everyone impacted by the fire. But it has been great to see the community helping one another from Porterville College allowing for the evacuation center to be set up in the Student Center to the Porterville Fairgrounds being used as the firefighter base camp. Everyone it seems is jumping in to lend a hand.