‘They give up so much’: Firefighters’ sacrifice honored as Thomas fire victim returns home

The procession for Cal Fire firefighter Cory Iverson, who died from injuries suffered while fighting the Thomas fire on Thursday, Dec. 14, moves down the 134 Freeway through Burbank on Sunday, Dec. 17. His remains were being returned to San Diego County. (Michael Meadows for SCNG)Firefighters and others stand on the Alameda Street bridge over the 134 Freeway in Burbank on Sunday, Dec. 17, 2017, to pay their respects to Cal Fire firefighter Cory Iverson, who died from injuries suffered while fighting the Thomas fire on Thursday, Dec. 14. A procession accompanied his body as he was to San Diego County. (Michael Meadows for SCNG)A crowd gathers under a flag flown at half-mast at a fire station in Chino on Sunday, Dec. 17, for the procession accompanying the remains of Cal Fire firefighter Cory Iverson from Ventura County, where he was killed in action Thursday, to San Diego, where he lived. (Photo by Brooke Staggs, Orange County Register/SCNG)Firefighters and others gather at a Chino Valley Fire District fire station in Chino on Sunday, Dec. 17, for the procession accompanying the remains of Cal Fire firefighter Cory Iverson from Ventura County, where he was killed in action Thursday, to San Diego, where he lived. (Photo by Brooke Staggs, Orange County Register/SCNG)People come to pay their respects at a Chino Valley Fire District fire station in Chino on Sunday, Dec. 17, for the procession accompanying the remains of Cal Fire firefighter Cory Iverson from Ventura County, where he was killed in action Thursday, to San Diego, where he lived. (Photo by Brooke Staggs, Orange County Register/SCNG)Firefighters salute as the hearse carrying the remains of Cal Fire firefighter Cory Iverson pulls into a fire station in Chino on Sunday, Dec. 17. The procession stopped there on its way from Ventura County, where Iverson was killed in action Thursday, to San Diego, where he lived. (Photo by Brooke Staggs, Orange County Register/SCNG)Firefighters salute as the hearse carrying the remains of Cal Fire firefighter Cory Iverson pulls into a fire station in Chino on Sunday, Dec. 17. The procession stopped there on its way from Ventura County, where Iverson was killed in action Thursday, to San Diego, where he lived. (Photo by Brooke Staggs, Orange County Register/SCNG)Show Caption of Expand
Waving American flags, riding bicycles and just lining up along streets, crowds of people turned out throughout Southern California on Sunday, Dec. 17, to observe the funeral procession taking firefighter Cory Iverson home to San Diego.
The 32-year-old firefighter died Thursday after he was injured while battling the massive Thomas fire.
The procession started at 10 a.m. Sunday at the medical examiner’s office in Ventura and was expected to end just after 2 p.m. at a memorial park in San Diego. Along the way, it was to wind east and south through Los Angeles, San Bernardino and Riverside counties along the 101, 210, 57, 71, 91 and 15 Freeways, including a brief stop in Chino.

Related: Map and estimated times for procession route

In front of the Chino fire station, people lined Schaefer Avenue to pay their respects.
“We know what we sign up for, but it’s a hard pill to swallow when you lose someone,” said Prince Wilkerson, a captain with Cal Fire’s Shasta/Trinity division and a 22-year firefighting veteran.
Wilkerson stood with his hands folded alongside a few dozen other Cal Fire and Chino Valley firefighters lining the drive into Chino Station No. 61. They waited under a flag at half mast.
“I don’t think the public truly understands the kinds of sacrifices they make,” said Mary Elizabeth Powell, whose grandson was a firefighter with Cal Fire for three seasons.
The Chino resident said her grandson would send them pictures after weeks on the front lines of a Northern California wildfire, and he was unrecognizable.

Social media: Sights from the procession for fallen Thomas Fire firefighter Cory Iverson

“These guys work so hard and they give up so much, and then to lose one life like that,” Linda Takeuchi said as she fought back tears.
She recalled a time more than 50 years ago when firefighters stood on the roof of her Girl Scout camp hall and fought off a blaze that nearly swallowed them before the camp could evacuate.
“Unless you’ve been in one and have seen how fast they can go, you don’t understand.
“They saved us,” Takeuchi said.
The Thomas fire has burned 269,000 acres and destroyed more than 1,000 structures in its path. It was 40 percent contained Sunday, as erratic Santa Ana winds picked back up. More than 8,500 firefighters from across the Western U.S. were still battling the fire Sunday
No firefighters had been injured until Iverson was fatally hurt Thursday while he was working in the hills above Fillmore.
Cory Iverson and his wife Ashley and daughter Evie, 2.<br />(Courtesy photo)
Iverson died of burns and smoke inhalation, the Ventura County Medical Examiner’s office said Saturday. No further details on what caused his death were released, with authorities still investigating.
Iverson had been with Cal Fire since 2009 and worked at a station in Dulzura. Before working in San Diego, Iverson was assigned to a helicopter unit at Cal Fire’s Hemet-Ryan Air Attack Base in Riverside County.
He’s survived by his wife, Ashley Iverson, who’s expecting a baby in May, and a 2-year-old daughter.
A friend of Ashley Iverson’s set up a GoFundMe account to offset funeral costs and support the family. The crowdfunding account had raised more than $360,000 of a $500,000 goal as of Sunday afternoon.
Donations can also be made to the Iverson family through the Cal Fire San Diego Firefighters Benevolent Fund.
A memorial for Iverson is planned for 10 a.m. Dec. 23 at The Rock Church in Point Loma.
Source: Oc Register