Guardians of Live Oak Drive
Ontario fire engineer Wayne Daunis stood in a thick cloak of smoke on Live Oak Drive in Running Springs just before dawn this morning, two fire engines parked in the street behind him.
He was among the firefighters from eight engine companies who helped protect threatened homes on this winding road between Highway 18 and Highway 330 from 4 p.m. Tuesday until today. Fire came within yards of some of the dozens of homes dotting Live Oak Drive.
"The main focus last night was keeping it (fire) out of the (tree) canopy and on the ground," said Daunis. "The wind helped us out by staying down. We didn't have that much wind last night."
Concern centered on the fire ascending pine trees, igniting the tops and then the wind fanning the flames to neighboring trees.
Things got most hectic between 5 p.m. and midnight Tuesday, Daunis said. Fire crept under the porches of two evacuated homes, and firefighters had to force entry into them to douse the blazes.
At one house, where the fire crept into the basement, firefighters used an ax to cut a hole through the outside wall so firefighters could access the basement and extinguish the fire, Daunis said.
"We thought we were going to lose the house," Daunis said.
Joe Nelson, joe.nelson@sbsun.com