A wind-driven brush fire at the west end of Corona quickly spread through Orange County, threatening homes in Yorba Linda and blackening thousands of acres
YORBA LINDA, Calif .– A group of neighbors from a tight-knit Yorba Linda neighborhood worked alongside fire crews Monday night to fight the blazes of the Blue Ridge Fire
Sean Callahan said he was there for the community fire in 2008 and was ready to help his neighbors on Monday
« We have come back to action as we did with all the neighbors [in 2008] who will not abandon their neighbors, » Callahan said
Callahan’s father lives in the neighborhood near Blue Ridge Drive When the fire broke out, he and a group of his friends and neighbors began to water the area
« We took out the pipe and the fire actually wrapped around the canyons and jumped on them and once it hit my dad’s neighbor’s house we took out the pipe and CalFire was there and we split the fire hydrant, and he told us where to go and what to do and we had one house, he [the firefighter] had the other, ”Callahan said
Callahan and others have images on their cellphones of flames within 25 feet of them He said he also alerted neighbors to the blaze
« I started knocking on people’s doors and it was amazing I probably went to 45 houses and half of them didn’t even know there was a fire in their backyard , people with kids, so it was pretty intense, ”Callahan said
Callahan also received unexpected help Joshua Sedoff came to the area, with the aim of helping one of his friends who evacuated
« I saw them hook up the hose so I decided to ask them if they wanted help and he [Callahan] said yes, » Sedoff said
« I want to be a firefighter, so it’s kind of exhilarating because that’s what I want to do, so it was nice to be around the firefighters, trying to help them as much as possible », said Sedoff
“You could smell the flames, the heat It was intense and you try to keep your eyes open and your eyes just cry because the smoke is coming straight towards you,” Sedoff said
« I wanted to help him and I was lucky to be able to do it and he was not afraid and none of us were afraid All we wanted to do was save all the houses », a declared Sedoff
Neighbors in the community do not plan to evacuate like hundreds of other people have, however, they do plan a long night looking after each other
« We took care of it as a team This is what we have to do here as neighbors and as a society We have been here for over 20 years They are like family to us and we strive to help each other and ‘help others as we can,’ said Callahan
According to Chino Valley Fire, the Blue Ridge Fire spanned 3,000 acres and 15,331 people were placed on mandatory evacuation orders at 8:30 p.m.m Monday
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Yorba Linda, Orange County, Blue Ridge Drive, CA
News from around the world – US – Neighbors from the tight-knit community of Yorba Linda help fire crews fight Blue Ridge Fire
SOURCE: https://www.w24news.com
