Cabin characters hard to move

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Santiago Fire:

Standing near the entrance to Holy Jim Canyon, Michael Milligan took stock of the situation.

Up the rough road were renters living in 49 cabins on U.S. Forest Service land. As the volunteer fire chief for Holy Jim, it was his job to to get everyone out.

Knowing how fiercely independent canyon people tended to be, Milligan knew some would resist.

As he talked with a dozen sheriff’s deputies, he provided a bit of detail on the characters who lived up the road. He also handed out maps showing the locations of all the Holy Jim cabins.

“There’s an 86-year-old woman with one leg and terrible health,” he said. “I got her out on a ruse, and they’ll never let her back in.”

“There’s Shane. Old guy with a grey beard. You’ve probably seen him,” Milligan went on. “He’ll be alright.”

Milligan brought the conversation around to another resident, a guy he identified as an old man with animals.

“I’d like to encourage him to leave,” Milligan said

We can’t physically make him leave, a deputy responded.

Milligan shook his head, knowingly.

“I can get him out.”

-- Mike Anton