Crestline resident thanks 71 Orange County firefighters for help after blizzard

By Orange County on March 24, 2023

One Crestline resident went two days without food. A healthcare worker lost contact with an elderly resident for three weeks. Another resident had run out of pet food.

For 13 days after the recent storms that pounded communities in the San Bernardino Mountains, 71 firefighters with the Orange County Fire Authority worked long days: They dug out residents trapped in their homes and vehicles, helped open up roadways, and checked on others to make sure they were OK.

The firefighters, a mix of hand-crew members trained to combat wildfires and traditional firefighters as well, helped stranded residents get rides down the mountain for medical appointments, including two for dialysis, with the assistance of the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department. They looked in on a woman’s dad and ended up digging him a way out.

Tina Watson wanted to thank them.

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To get back into her Crestline home, on a visit from her other home down the mountain to check on the gas meter after other places had caught fire, hand crew members had created a path for her and her husband. They cleared off her deck, too, so it wouldn’t collapse from the weight of the snow and solidified ice. A hand crew member even held one of her arms and walked her to the door to ensure she wouldn’t slip.

So a Zoom call was set up for the 66-year-old on Wednesday, and she chatted with many of the OCFA firefighters who had gathered at Fire Station 18 in Trabuco Canyon, where the two OCFA hand crews that responded are based.

“It’s a simple thanks, but you have no idea the blessings you bestowed on so many people up there in the mountains,” she told them during a 25-minute-or-so call.

She was briefly brought to tears as she shared stories of elderly mountain residents who had been trapped and unable to access medicine or healthcare before the firefighters arrived early this month.

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“They had no heating, no firewood, no electricity, and no phones,” she told the firefighters. “The only reason they were able to get help was the two crews that were up there digging these people out.”

Scott Gorman, superintendent of a 25-strong OCFA hand crew that was part of the effort, said the work can be overwhelming for first responders during disaster-relief efforts. The level of urgency and demand can be an emotional roller coaster for the firefighters as well. The most difficult part, he said, is driving away at the end of the day, knowing there are still people in need.

“For me, that’s always the challenge,” he said. “You don’t want to leave them, because the situation is not over.”

So, for nearly two weeks, the OCFA firefighters kept going back.