By Melissa Wynn
Moonlight Burn
On behalf of our staff and all our forest dwelling readers Mountain Valley Living would like to thank CDF and their noble firefighters that risk their lives on a daily basis to protect our beautiful woodland home. One year after the September 2007 Moonlight Fire devastated the residents of Indian Valley I visited several areas in the burn area with Jason Moghaddas, former Fire Ecologist of the Mount Hough Ranger District. My tour was an eye-opening education in the seriousness of fire preparedness and the importance of maintaining a defensible space around our homes. Flames from the Moonlight fire were visible from my own front porch on the day the fire started and I am eternally grateful to the brave men and women that protected my Westwood community from the suffering endured by the many Indian Valley residents that still have charred and barren areas near their homes. In July of 2008 the heroic CDF crews fought the Rich Bar fire between Hwy 70 and Hwy 89 and saved the historic mining community of Seneca that was a huge part of childhood and is the resting place of my father. Once again I was so thankful for the hard work and sacrifices made by the CDF staff. I sometimes called CDF four or five times a day to check the status of the Rich Bar fire and was always treated with kindness and sympathy by a helpful and informed lady on the other end of the line. She even came to know my voice and called me by name, letting me know she genuinely understood my concerns. From the telephone to the forest fire front lines the employees of CDF go above and beyond the call of duty. Acknowledged and appreciated CDF, from the bottom of our hearts, THANK YOU!
Moonlight Burn
