Bay Area writer thanks Porterville area firefighters for their service
San Francisco Bay Area writer Michael Belef was recently camping in the Stanislaus National Forest and was driving home Wednesday evening when he encountered a group of firefighters from the Porterville area. He shared his account of that meeting:
“I saw a crew of firefighters jumping out of trucks at the Summit Ranger Station on highway 108 near Strawberry, CA. I stopped to thank them for their service. I discovered they were the Bear Ridge Sequoia fire crew that travelled more than 200 miles from the Porterville. I believe most of the firefighters were Yukot and Tule River tribe members.
On July 25 the Bear Ridge crew was sent up highway 108 near Strawberry as a rapid response unit to protect that area or to deploy to fires from that region. When I drove up to the Summit Ranger Station they were reviewing some maps in preparation, so I decided to stop and thank them for their hard work.
The entire fire crew looked strong, confident and determined to fight fires. As they reviewed their maps, crew lead Justin Heferty said, ‘We are enjoying the cooler weather here.' It was 85 degrees near Strawberry at 7 p.m. The firefighters had travelled through triple digit heat to reach their new post that day.
After I snapped their photo, I told the Porterville firefighters, ‘While I was up here playing and camping, you were out here working. I know that you left your families and friends and homes. Thank you for your hard work!'
I am sure their absence from home also impacts local families and businesses, so thanks to the whole community for your contributions to fighting fires and helping communities across the state.”