Photo from the LATimes

Not only do firefighters have to deal with one of the largest fires in California’s history, they also have to deal with rescuing people who didn’t listen to the evacuation order.

The Station Fire, which has burned 140,000+ acres AND IS 38% contained, has already taken the lives of two of LA Counties Bravest. Yet amid all the work that Firefighters have done to keep people safe, try to contain the fire, and attempt to save as much property as possible, they have to contend with something they cannot imagine. People who have been told to leave defy the order only to call back and ask for rescue.

Some people say to hell with them. That is not something firefighters are about. We answer the call…every time. However, sometimes we just cannot effect a rescue. Sometimes, even with our best efforts, we cannot get in and rescue everyone. In this case, it isn’t our faults. We gave them ample warning, told them to evacuate but they didn’t.

Our jobs would be a lot easier if we could cure “Stupid”. But we cannot. The people who decide to ride out fires of any sort are STUPID!

Five people who refused to leave Gold Canyon when the area was evacuated made it through the Station fire.
“They survived, they made it through,” said Mark Savage of the Los Angeles County Fire Department.

The five residents created quite a drama Monday when the fire moved closer to their homes. After defying the evacuation order issued over the weekend, some of the residents changed their minds and asked to be rescued. Read the entire article

Photo from the LATimes

Two other people were burned when they tried to ride out the fire in their hot tub. A freakin hot tub! I have an idea, lets ride out this fire that might be burning at 1000 degrees in a pot of water that is already at around 100 degrees! That sounds like a great idea.

The sad truth is that when people disregard evacuation orders, whether mandatory or voluntary, they put themselves in harm as well as the lives of their rescuers. We don’t just make up evacuation orders to mess up your day. We do it to remove the potential life safety so that we can focus on fire containment and property conservation.

If we cannot guarantee that lives are protected, we have to focus on that. Others who lose are the people who’s property we might be protecting instead of rescuing non-evacuees, and those who might be effected by the growth of fire while we divert our resources from the fire line to rescue those who disobey.

For all of those who have been asked to evacuate the Station Fire, please listen to the Fire Officials!

I would like to add that the Firefighters working on the Station Fire should be commended for a great job thus far. The statistics show the great job they are doing: 94 buildings destroyed, 6 injuries, and unfortunately 2 firefighter deaths.

For information on evacuations please visit these sites:

LA County FD
LAFD News and Information Blog
NBC Los Angeles