SOUTH LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – A day ahead of the one-year anniversary of the beginning of the Valley fire, events around the south county gave area residents the chance to gather to remember and focus on the continuing recovery work.
The fire broke out on High Valley Road in Cobb on the afternoon of Saturday, Sept. 12, 2015.
By the following day, it had scorched more than 50,000 acres. Altogether, it burned 76,067 acres and more than 1,300 homes, and led to four confirmed fatalities.
At Twin Pine Casino, Middletown Rancheria – which has been a stalwart in offering assistance to the community throughout the wildland fires – hosted the Valley Fire Community Day from noon to 5 p.m. Sunday.
While last year the casino's event center hosted an evacuation center – and did so again during the Clayton fire – this time it welcomed a steady stream of people who enjoyed music, free food, a bouncy house and slide for children, and information booths. The mood overall was upbeat.
Elsewhere around the Valley fire area, the South Lake County Fire Protection District and Cal Fire hosted open houses at the district's four fire stations – Cobb, Hidden Valley Lake, Loch Lomond and Middletown – from 1 to 4 p.m. The district contracts with Cal Fire for services.
“It's a day to remember” what Jim Comisky, president of the South Lake County Fire Protection District Board and himself a firefighter for 38 years, estimated was the most catastrophic day in the history of southern Lake County.
Comisky spoke during a brief and informal gathering during the open house at the Middletown Fire Station attended by Sheriff Brian Martin, Supervisor Rob Brown, several Cal Fire staff and a number of community members.
Comisky said that everyone in the community lost something to the Valley fire and at 1:30 p.m. – at about the time the fire initially was dispatched last Sept. 12 – he led the group in a moment of silence in recognition of that fact.
In a community where it's still unclear how many of the fire survivors ultimately will choose to stay and rebuild, hope was an underlying theme of Sunday's events.
Beyond loss is recovery, and Comisky said the event was about what's ahead as much as what is behind.
“It's a chance to look forward,” he said.
During an impromptu remembrance ceremony led by Kim Carr, attendees shared their memories and what they're grateful for in the wake of the fire.
Sheriff Martin, who was on the ground in the fire area beginning on the first day, said he remembered how the fire sounded like a jet engine.
He said the entire community shared the experience of the fire.
Cal Fire Battalion Chief Mike Wink said he was grateful for the new relationships as well as the existing ones that were strengthened in the fire response and recovery.
“It's my honor to work here and serve this community,” Wink said.
Comisky pointed to the courage he has witnessed in response to the fire. “The way this community came together, it's like I've never seen before,” he said.
Cal Fire Battalion Chief Linda Green, who also was on the ground during the fire that day, said she too has seen the community pull together.
Other firefighting staff noted their gratitude for the brotherhood of the profession.
Firefighter Don Lopez asked for another moment of silence in memory of the attack on Sept. 11, 2001, before sharing his experience of fighting the Valley fire.
His daughter lost her house on the first day of the incident, and as he was on the fire lines he heard come over the radio reports that homes were on fire in his neighborhood.
He wouldn't know for 24 hours that his home had been saved by the efforts of an out-of-area strike team. Despite the house nearly catching fire repeatedly, it was saved.
“How that happened I don't really know,” he said.
So many people lost homes, he noted, and it wasn't for a lack of trying to save them.
Later that afternoon, up Highway 175 at the Cobb firehouse, Cal Fire firefighters, fire district directors and a little group of Fire Sirens – the women whose devoted fundraising efforts pay for critical equipment – welcomed visitors throughout the afternoon.
“I think it was rewarding that we had the doors open,” said Rob Bostock, vice president of the South Lake County Fire Protection District's five-member board.
Wink stopped in at Cobb, where he said the station is staffed around the clock with two firefighter/paramedics per shift.
In addition to those Cal Fire personnel, Bostock said the district has a large volunteer base, with backup from the Kelsey Cobb station further down Highway 175. He said a more experienced firefighting team can't be found anywhere else.
Wink said the Hidden Valley Lake station also is staffed around the clock with Cal Fire personnel, while the Loch Lomond station is manned by volunteers, and the Middletown station by a mix of Cal Fire personnel and volunteers.
“None of us can do it alone,” said Wink.
The people who visited the fire house on Sunday “are glad we're here,” said Bostock.
Another board member, Devin Hoberg, said he wanted to be on hand to welcome community members.
“It's very relaxed and calm,” he said of Sunday afternoon's event, explaining that they were there to answer questions or to simply listen if people wanted to talk about their experiences.
Hoberg, a lifelong county resident and member of one of Cobb Mountain's most well-known families, lost his home near Boggs Forest in the fire.
He's watching rebuilding taking place in his neighborhood and is working to prepare his property for a new home. That work involves taking care of little trees that have naturally started to grow on his land, including about 25 pine seedlings plus some little oaks that have sprouted up.
Bostock started coming to the area as a child in 1944, has had a vacation cabin in Cobb since 1974 and moved to Cobb permanently in 1998.
He believes the community will recover, explaining that he could have chosen to live elsewhere but has made Cobb his home.
“We're here because it's a special place,” said Bostock.
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
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