O.C. Readers Give Thanks For Fire Help

* Elizabeth Ungricht, Mission Viejo: I want to thank my husband, who is a captain for the Orange County Fire Department, and I feel that he did a tremendous job. He has worked for the county since 1972. He’s always there when people need him. I feel that the Fire Department needs a great deal of recognition for the efforts that they did. A lot of them worked 24 to 48 hours nonstop. I feel very sorry for the people who lost their homes. My husband worked on Emerald Bay and he saved a lot of homes there. I feel that the Fire Department deserves a lot of recognition for what they did.

* Nancy and Jim Penney, Laguna Beach: We have praises and praises for the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, the Orange County Fire Department, Newport and Laguna Beach police departments, the Emerald Bay security staff and personnel, the gas company, the Edison Co., and the American Red Cross. They have been incredibly wonderful . . . . (We live in) Emerald Bay and we still have a home.

* David Armstrong, Laguna Beach: I’d like to thank my neighbors, Grad Wetzel and son David, and across the street, Stan Flores. They stayed through the fire on their home on Thurston Drive, and got the houses around them watered down. They kept our deck from going, which caught fire several times and they put it out.

* Connie Martin, Laguna Beach: I would like to offer a special thanks to Sean, who lives up the street from me, who helped me move my belongings out of my apartment as the fire was raging down the hill behind both of our homes.

* Julie Mayrhofer, Stanton: I just wanted to say thank you to the California Division of Forestry, who helped put out the majority of these fires over the past week. To my brother, Dave, and nephew, Mark, who possibly helped fight these fires. I have many relatives who were born and raised in Laguna Beach, and I am thankful for those who have helped put out this fire. I can offer whatever assistance, food, clothing and will try to help and do whatever I can.

* Laurel Conner, Laguna Beach: I would just like to thank Amy, that’s all I know her as, for picking me up on her way into town Wednesday night to get my animals. I could not have gotten there as quickly without her.

* Diana Gairdner, Emerald Bay, Laguna Beach: Since I was gone during the fire, neighbor Darlene Covington in our cul-de-sac of four homes got four elderly ladies in cars for evacuation, plus she sprayed all the roofs and turned on the automatic sprinklers for help.

* Corinne and Gary Greene, Laguna Beach: We would like to thank the Laguna Beach School District for the fabulous job they did at evacuating our children at Top of World and Thurston Middle School. I was very, very impressed and thankful to the staff and teachers of the Laguna Beach Unified School District.

* Rose Marie Disandro, Laguna Beach: I’d like to send my thanks to Chad Jones of South Laguna, who opened her tiny little house to several evacuated, distressed women on that awful Wednesday evening. She fed us incredibly good chili and bedded us down on sofas for the night. One of us arrived on foot and knocked on her door. Another came who had just lost her house to the fire. All of us were graciously cared for by a most-hospitable lady. Chad Jones lives in South Laguna.

* Kathy Bari, San Juan Capistrano: I’d like to thank the Dana Point Resort for holding the Dana Hills High School homecoming dance . . . because Dana Hills High School is the site of the evacuees, and I thought it was very kind of the hotel to offer its services.

* Chris Wright: Laguna Beach: I would like to thank the Westminster and Huntington Beach fire departments and anyone else who was involved when they arrived like the cavalry Wednesday evening to keep the fire from coming over the ridge on Canyon View Drive.

* Melissa Cam, Tustin: I would like to thank the news media who for once didn’t further hurt the people who lost so much. (Reporter) Laurie Levin was the first person who I saw ask someone briefly how he felt when his house was destroyed and then said, “We’re all so sorry,” and then left the person alone. For once the media was very kind to the victims.

* Randy Rimmey: I’m with the California Highway Patrol and I was one of the first officers that responded to Laguna Canyon, two miles north of the lakes, which is where the original call came out. And I just wanted to say that I was there probably about a half hour and one of the first people that responded was the Red Cross. I’ve never dealt with the Red Cross before, and I wasn’t able to get the gentleman’s name that was there. Apparently he was a ham operator. I was really impressed with the professionalism and the timely manner in which the Red Cross was able to respond to the disaster. . . .

* Jay Nelson, Sybil Nelson, and Charles Nelson, Laguna Beach: To the captain and crews who fought the fire at 755 and 751 St. Ann’s Drive in Laguna Beach, our homes stand because of your professionalism, your heroism and your courage. You guys stand above the rest.

* Peter Moore, Laguna Beach: I just want to say thanks so very much to my neighbors Mo and Casey Cunningham. They rescued my cat. I was able to get in and get my other cat, and I didn’t know where my cat Friday was. They rescued him and took him to a safe place and it was two days before I found out that he was OK. I’m just so grateful to have them for neighbors.

* Dee Walker, Newport Beach: I’m a teacher at Laguna Beach Unified School District. I would like to personally thank Supt. Paul Possemato and the entire Laguna Beach Unified School District for the incredible, remarkable, smooth, safe evacuation of all our schools.

* Jean Cristea, Laguna Beach: I would like to thank all the firemen who made a last stand at Temple Hills because that saved our home and we want to thank the policemen who have provided the checkpoints so that our things remained intact.

* Doug Upchurch, Laguna Beach: I’d like to thank my brothers, both Dan and Richard, for pulling it together. Through our efforts we not only saved my residence, but also our business. And also my neighbor, Bill Wall, who really helped. We saved a building . . . . We And also I’d like to thank the Laguna Beach Police and the Orange County Sheriff (departments), for allowing me to come back into the canyon when it was closed in order to retrieve life-saving medication.

* Dr. Steven Williams, Laguna Beach: I’m in Laguna Beach on Skyline Drive. I needed to leave a word of thanks to all of the police officers and all law enforcement officials and especially the firefighters who saved my home on Skyline Drive . . . . I would like to thank my neighbor, Ursula Denny, who offered to help save my dog from the home in case there was a need for it. During the evacuation I was unable to reach my home because of the closure of Coast Highway. In addition, thanks to Dr. Mark Blair and Chris Wright, neighbors who offered assistance . . . Thanks to all of the firefighters again, and the police . . . .

* Carol Perrin, Irvine: I live in Turtle Rock and I don’t have anyone specific to thank, but I sure would like to have a way to thank the many firefighters who helped stop the fire about a hundred yards from our house. I will always remember them.

* Doris Griffin, San Clemente: I am a member of the Christian Science Church near Boat Canyon in Laguna Beach. We are located at 635 High Drive, and I want to personally thank the fire people--the firemen who stopped the fire right at the baseball diamond down in Boat Canyon. It protected our church and all the homes in north Laguna and I am most grateful.

* Dr. Blynn Bunney, Laguna Beach: My daughter and I were separated during the fire and I had a pager with the telephone number where she was located, but I didn’t recognize the number and I had no way to get together with my daughter because all of the phone circuits were down. I called the phone company and they were able to give me the address of the number. If it wasn’t for that, we would not have been united during this crisis. I really want to thank the person or persons who tracked the number down. My daughter is 7 1/2 years old. It was quite an experience for all of us . . . .

* Kay Cox,, (city unknown): I’m one of the board members for the Blue Bell Foundation, which is a foundation for about 130 cats that live on Laguna Canyon Road. On Wednesday we had to evacuate those cats and we’d like to thank all the people that helped us, including Annie Wells and Cheryl Leland. We’d especially like to thank the staff and everyone at the El Toro Animal Hospital because that’s where we had to take all those cats during the fire. We’d like to thank the staff at Animal Crackers in Laguna for helping us, for the Irvine Animal Services, for the Laguna Beach Animal Service, especially Dennis, Keith and Joy . . . .

* Tina Benson, Laguna Beach. I wish to thank all the firefighters who worked so hard to save my home. I know they came from all over the state. I am considering making a donation to a fireman’s relief fund. I understand that many were injured while fighting the fires in California.

* Donna and John Hunt, Laguna Beach: We would like to thank Darin Henry and his father for coming over the night of the fire, actually during the fire, and going in our back yard (on Skyline Drive) and using our trash cans and pool water, putting out the fire that was raging in a bamboo grove in our yard, possibly stopping the fire from racing toward our house. They also, by hand, ripped out a fence that was next to burning bushes. The most important thing, they managed to find us and call us to tell us that our house was still standing . . . one of the two on our block that is.

* Douglas and Becky Miller, Laguna Beach: We are calling to thank the Laguna Beach School District teachers for staying with our children during the evacuation. And also for the wonderful bus drivers from Durham Transportation for putting their lives on the line, too, to pick up our children during those fiery days.

* Todd and Darcy Thornton, Laguna Beach: We wanted to thank all the firefighters who fought the Laguna Beach blaze, And more specifically those firefighters who held the line at the Top of the World area to prevent the fire from entering our neighborhood and getting on the east side of the Top of the World.

* Ken Kramer, Laguna Beach: I live directly behind El Morro Mobile Home Park, behind the school, and I would like to thank the state lifeguards at Crystal Cove State Park. During the day of the fire, they saved my house and basically they swapped their swim trunks and fins and rescue buoys for fire gear, helmets and fire tools . . . they were heroes to me that day.