Foothills Sentry January 2021

Foothills Sentry Page 6 January 2021 That was the year that was ground zero On the night of Dec. 2, flames reportedly from a burning gen- erator spread to vegetation in Silverado’s Cabinland neighbor- hood. Santa Ana winds ultimately spread the fire to over 6,500 acres. At the top of Kitterman Drive, Natalie Garth smelled smoke around 9:30 p.m. She and Lin- da May debated how serious that was. Then Sydnee Ragland knocked and announced that they had to leave. May grabbed her computer. Garth grabbed a basket of clothes, adding pills, leashes, dog treats and a stack of “The New Yorker” magazines. On lower Kitterman, Steve Reighart woke up to give direc- tions to a fire engine. Then he joined some neighbors in fighting flames. Residents credit Steve, Josh Smith, and Jacob Kelsey with saving their houses. On Anderson Way, Canyon Watch block captain Rich Pfei- ffer was supposed to be giving directions to other volunteers, but wound up fighting the fire for 20 minutes, instead. When actual firefighters showed up, he asked, “Do you want me to get out of your way?” “No,” they answered. “You look like you know what you’re doing. Keep doing it.” At the foot of Whites Canyon Way, Sherry Meddick drove some of her animals to a spot near the Silverado Market. Neighbors evacuated the rest of her cats, ex- cept one still hiding in the house. Meddick walked back to join oth- er residents outside. Two fire engines were now pumping water from Anderson hydrants to firefighters. A CAL FIRE crew began clearing veg- etation around Whites Canyon houses. Several hills were now on fire, but no embers seemed to be falling in the Anderson/Grundy Way area. Once a fire engine had parked near Fran Williams’ house on Shady Drive, she felt safe staying the night. In the morning, though, she had to use her Kia sedan to jump-start the fire engine after its battery ran down. Cox, AT&T and Verizon phones all quit working, eventu- ally. Ironically, Southern Cali- fornia Edison had shut off the electricity earlier that evening, in order to prevent power lines from starting a fire. Initially, Canyon Watch volun- teers could rely on their GMRS radios. But Williams said that the saddest thing she observed that first night was the Franklin an- tenna burning up, ending further radio communication between different canyon areas. Meddick thanked Station 15 and the Forest Service for saving her house. They showed up be- cause one of her neighbors drove to the station and pounded on the windows to report the fire. In the days that followed, Sil- verado was generally quieter, except around houses tethered to generators, which growled in the night like motorcycles going no- where. The Red Cross evacuation cen- ter at El Modena High School gave Silverado evacuees vouch- ers for hotel rooms. Santa Ana’s Embassy Suites reportedly toler- ated not only dogs, but at least one duck and a snake. The Red Cross also delivered meals. Any- one who received help from that organization, or knows someone who did, might consider show- ing their appreciation by making a donation at redcross.org. Cactus Way resident Brian Lus- sier said that a burning log rolled down a hill and started a second- ary fire, but he never considered leaving. His main concern was having enough flashlight batter- ies. The Silverado Cafe and the Canyon Market stayed open. A handwritten note appeared at the post office saying, “If you are low on chicken feed, we have some we can share (limited supply),” followed by a phone number. Why did Bond Way resident Tim Adams own a set of fire hos- es? “We have to be prepared,” he said matter-of-factly, as neighbor Reed Tomlinson helped him dis- connect hoses from a hydrant, roll them up, and put them away until next time. Aftermath The Sheriff’s Virtual Local As- sistance Center listed resources available to fire victims: ocsher- iff.gov/commands-divisions/ field-operations-investigations- command/emergency-manage- ment/ resources-after. OC Public Works made sand- bags available to canyon resi- dents at (714) 955-0200. The Inter-Canyon League prepared to make disaster relief funds available, and the Silvera- do-Modjeska Recreation and Park District began investigating a possible US Department of Ag- riculture watershed-related grant opportunity. Walk or bike Give OC Public Works pedes- trian/bicycle traffic input at Walk- BikeOCPW.com. Sanctuary city Marcella Gilchrist, site man- ager at Modjeska’s Tucker Wild- life Sanctuary since 2007, is re- tiring to Coarsegold and hoping to volunteer in nearby Yosemite National Park, pandemics permit- ting. But Marcella also believes that Tucker animal ambassadors like The City of Villa Park was the recipient of 15,000 masks donated from Tyco, through the Taiwanese-American Chamber of Commerce of Greater Los Angeles and World Taiwanese Chambers of Commerce (WTCC). Taiwan’s program to donate 10 million masks to help other nations fight the pandemic reached Villa Park, thanks to resident John Yeh, president of WTCC. Giving the “thumbs up” sign are, left to right, Johnson Chien; Yi-Peng Chiang, director, TECO-LA Culture Center in Santa Ana; Mark Chan, honorary advisor of legislative yuan; Rich- ard Lin, deputy director general Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in LA; VP Mayor Crystal Miles; VP Community Services Foundation President Ed Carter; John Yeh; Kenneth Chen, president, Taiwanese- American Chamber of Commerce; VP City Manager Steve Franks. EOCWD names new general manager The Board of Directors of the East Orange County Water Dis- trict (EOCWD) has appointed David Youngblood as general manager, replacing longtime dis- trict head Lisa Ohlund, who has served since 2009 and retired at the end of 2020. “On behalf of my fellow board members, I want to thank Lisa Ohlund for capping her 38-year career serving water and waste- water customers with us here at East Orange County Water Dis- trict,” said Board President Doug Davert. “We are proud to appoint David Youngblood as our new general manager. He brings 25 years of experience in water re- source management, with both public sector and private consult- ing experience.” Most recently, Youngblood led engineering and operations at the Laguna Beach County Water District, and previously led engi- neering efforts at both the South Coast Water District and Orange County Water District. Prior to those public sector engagements, Youngblood worked for several prominent engineering firms in the county. Youngblood’s priorities include continuing the district’s record of quality water and sewer service delivered in a fiscally responsible manner. He also plans to focus on pro- tecting the district’s groundwater resources as well as the sewer reliability project planned for Tu- stin neighborhoods along Brown- ing Avenue. EOCWD serves retail water customers in unincorporated North Tustin and the City of Or- ange. The district also provides wholesale water to area agencies, in addition to maintaining and op- erating local sewers. Henry the Desert Tortoise will be permanently evacuated. She sug- gests contacting the CSUF Exten- sions and International Programs: Associate Vice President Chris Swarat, cswarat@fullerton.edu , (657) 278-2498. Those plants “Moonscape” after large fires is actually what chaparral plants ex- pect. The problem is that chapar- ral is adapted for large fires only every 30 to 125 years. Less than 20 years can lead to nothing but weeds. Wildflowers will bloom again in undisturbed soil. Avoid burned areas. The land will not heal if we keep picking at the scab. A holiday haunt on Silverado Canyon Road. OC distributes COVID vaccines The County of Orange Health Agency distributed 25,350 doses of Pfizer-manufactured COV- ID-19 vaccine to area hospitals, Dec. 16. The initial supply was given to high-risk health care workers as part of a multi-phased plan developed through the Cali- fornia Community Vaccine Advi- sory Committee. This first shipment was one of several in a planned allotment of Phase 1A doses. As more doses of vaccine become available, a greater portion of the Phase 1A population can anticipate getting them into early 2021. This in- cludes residents of long-term care facilities, which will coordinate obtaining doses through retail pharmacies supplied by the CDC. The vaccine is likely to become more accessible to the general public in the spring of 2021. At-home COVID tests are now available countywide via the OC Health Care Agency. OC resi- dents may visit ochealthinfo.com/ covidtest and register to receive a test kit shipped directly to their home at no cost. Ambry Genet- ics is able to process 4,000 tests each day with results available in 48 hours.