WILLOW SAVED

 If not for the efforts of the Bishop Fire Department and a slew of supporting agencies, the City of Bishop would be a whole lot thinner. 

On Monday, at the Bishop City Council’s regular meeting, Fire Chef Bret Russell gave the debrief on the fire which had occurred the night before at the mobile home park on Willow Street. 

According to Russell, at 8:13 p.m. Sunday (the 11th), firefighters responded to a report of three units engulfed in fire, in close proximity to other structures, with limited access for fire apparatus. 

A power line was arcing and showering sparks below. 

Two propane tanks had popped their tops and were blowing fire. 

Tires were popping. 

“Smoke, embers, extreme heat … the BTUs were real,” said Russell. 

Councilmember Karen Kong said she overheard the grumbling of the doubters at the outset. “There’s no way these volunteers are gonna get this under control.” 

And yet … 

“The beautiful part,” said Russell in a follow-up interview on Tuesday, “is that we had been training on these ‘close cousin’ scenarios (where structures are in very close proximity). Rapid hose deployment, rapid water application … it was beyond impressive execution. There was a breeze blowing to the southeast. It was a recipe for disaster. We could have lost a block or more.” 

“Thank your stars and buy a lotto ticket,” he remarked. 

He gave special kudos to Capt. Hector Martinez, who led Operations during the event while Russell served as Incident Commander. 

While Russell said Monday that the cause of the fire was under investigation, neighbors The Sheet spoke to on Tuesday morning had a pretty clear idea of what they thought the cause was: One of the properties which burned had an oversubscribed electrical box next to dry grass with extension cords snaking in various directions. 

A source of frustration for first responders was … the general public. The fire drew a maze of curious residents and gawkers, numbering perhaps 100, many ignoring law enforcement admonitions during the incident to edge closer for a better look. 

Some even set up lawn chairs on the other side of Willow. 

Police Chief Nate Derr said police got so frustrated with repeat offenders crossing safety lines that they were ‘this close’ to making some arrests. 

“I get that everyone wants to check it out,” said Derr, “but it hinders emergency response. It’s a nightmare [in a chaotic situation] when you can’t account for people. If we’d had to evacuate further out, we wouldn’t know who’s cleared and who’s not [from their residences].” 

Nine households were put up at the Vagabond for the night (with no charge for pets!). All but two households could return home the next day. One firefighter suffered a minor injury during the incident. Two dogs perished in the blaze.