Volunteer firefighting goes way back

Ukiah Daily Journal

Editor's note: This is the first in a series of stories the Daily Journal will publish this week about local volunteer fire departments in advance the Sunday's special findraising concert with Kris Kristofferson.

It is no secret that in Mendocino County firefighters worked to put out lightning-sparked blazes that smoked out blue sky for weeks this summer. Many also worked hard miles from the front lines.

After the summer's fires were subdued, it is estimated that fires in the Mendocino Lightning Complex consumed 53,300 acres according to Cal-Fire's official fact sheet.

Individual fires that burned in the complex totaled 129 fires, Cal-Fire stated.

Although the state government's official fire fighting arm is Cal-Fire, some fire fighters working the lightning fires this summer are volunteer fire fighters from volunteer fire departments.

In the case of volunteer fire fighting history in Hopland, it began with people calling one another when there was a fire.

If there was a fire, you would call your neighbor, Chris Keiffer, a retired Hopland volunteer fire fighter said. A veteran of World War II, 85-year-old Keiffer and his wife Betty are long-time residents of Hopland.

In the past, Betty said she dialed phone numbers from a list of people who could help in an emergency. That was the chain of response then.

In those days it was agricultural equipment such as tractors and spray rigs driven to the scene of a fire, Keiffer stated.

In contrast to today, Keiffer said most ranchers cleared grasslands before the Fourth of July season. He said there were no burning regulations during the time after World War II.

For the Hopland volunteers it has not always been about fire, but car accidents as well.

Keiffer and the other volunteers responded to accidents in a time before the Jaws of Life was there to remove a body from a car.

Using one vehicle as an anchor that was chained to a wrecked car, a tow truck was then used to pull metal away, Keiffer said.

A lot of it was teamwork, Keiffer said, "it took team work."

Potter Valley, like Hopland, has also seen a volunteer fire department established in the 20th century.

The Potter Valley Volunteer fire department has been around since 1947, Pauli said. He said that in the early 1970s a new fire house was built and remains home to the department today.

This summer, Pauli has witnessed first hand the contributions a volunteer fire department can make.

Potter Valley never actually fought the fire first hand, but they did at one time stage themselves to do so. Potter Valley fire also helped concerned residents in the Mendocino National Forest area, Pauli said.

A lot of important work is done by people away from the flames.

Examples mentioned by Pauli include the jobs of fuel supply, maintenance and logistics, Pauli said.

In honor of those who combated fire voluntarily in the lightning complex, an upcoming benefit concert headlined by Kris Kristofferson is set to happen on Oct. 5 in Ukiah.

Kristofferson and others performing at the Lightning Jam benefit concert get no money, Heidi Dickerson of congressman Mike Thompson's office said Thursday.