LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — Firefighters on Monday afternoon quickly stopped a fast-moving fire in the city of Clearlake, with some early help from passersby, one of them an off-duty firefighter himself.
The Box fire was first dispatched around 1:30 p.m. Monday on Dam Road near Jack in the Box.
The first firefighters on scene minutes later reported it was two acres, with a high rate of spread.
Radio traffic indicated the fire was between Dam Road and Highway 53, near the city’s major shopping center.
Lake County Fire responded with Cal Fire sending a full wildland dispatch, including Copter 104 and other air resources.
However, at 1:44 p.m. Lake County Fire Chief Willie Sapeta said forward progress had been stopped, and additional units responding were told to cancel.
Copter 104 continued in to help size up the fire but left the scene shortly afterward.
The firefighters got help in quickly knocking out what could have been a damaging blaze from some passersby who were the first on the scene.
Stephenie Hargrove, a nurse practitioner who works in Lake County, said she and her boyfriend, Tommy Scalfaro, were driving through the area when they saw the fire and noticed that fire resources hadn’t yet arrived.
Scalfaro, a Cal Fire firefighter who was off-duty at the time of the incident, turned his truck around, made sure his 2-year-old son, Hargrove and their newly adopted puppy were safely away from the danger, grabbed the McCleod firefighting tool that he keeps in his pickup for emergencies and ran into the fire, Hargrove said.
She said Scalfaro “went right into the fire to cut hand line to stop the spread of fire to keep it from jumping across Highway 53 due to the high winds.”
Hargrove shared video with Lake County News of Scalfaro at work at the scene.
Two other men also pulled over. Hargrove said they had a shovel and switched off with each other to try to get fire under control, lauding them as heroes for their actions.
When the on-duty firefighters arrived, Hargrove said Scalfaro helped the crew with fighting the fire and discussed where the fire appeared to have started.
Hargrove noted the very high winds in the area, and said she wasn’t sure how much further it would have spread had Scalfaro not quickly gotten to work.
She called Scalfaro a hero, noting that he couldn’t bear to pass this fire and not fight it. That’s despite the physical toll — including coughing and vomiting due to the smoke and having no protective gear. But, she said, he noted he’s “used to that.”
The weather occurred during a red flag warning that was in effect for much of Lake County due to high winds and dry vegetation. The warning is in effect until 7 p.m. Tuesday, the National Weather Service said.
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
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Clearlake fire quickly knocked out; passersby stop to help firefighters - Lake County News
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