On Drawing That Line in the Sand : Firefighters’ classic lesson in the human spirit

Southern California cannot forget anytime soon the countless images given us in the last two weeks of thousands of brave firefighters at work. We owe them a lot.

For them, the complexities of modern life were reduced to a few basics--victory, defeat, the promise of a new day. They stood against sudden “blowouts” on hillsides; they gave their all for a single structure in Malibu or Laguna Beach. We know some of their faces but few of their stories. There are countless more tales, no doubt, like those of Capt. Jim Ellis, Todd Perrin, Jim Shook and Mike Mish, a four-man crew from Orange County Engine Co. 8. They fought to save dwellings on their home turf in Laguna Beach, only to re-enter the fray and dodge a deadly fireball days later in Sweetwater Canyon, a ravine near Malibu Pier. Others plunged as volunteers into the effort to tame the monster, unable to allow themselves to simply watch the battle on TV on their scheduled days off.

Finding victory in small gains or in the break of dawn, these heroes combined an exacting knowledge of firefighting techniques with a simple appreciation for the task at hand. Hundreds of fire companies drew a line in the sand at Topanga Canyon and Pacific Coast Highway, as if they were ancient warriors defending the perimeters of their settlement.

These firefighters have reminded us of classical lessons of the human spirit--good triumphing over evil, humans locked in combat with the forces of nature and the capacity of ordinary people to rise to great heights.

This work was done on a grand regional stage all around us, on the ground and in the air. Firefighters charged into the face of smoke and wind as the day’s light ebbed. They walked hillsides inhabited by actors whose on-screen feats of daring entertain us, and they matched Hollywood’s special effects with real-life wizardry, displaying a dedication seldom outdone by make-believe. We can only wonder at the private struggles many had during their campaign, balancing sound firefighting judgment against the sheer nerve needed to stare down death.

Residents of Laguna Beach, where 366 homes were destroyed, understood this when nine of 10 respondents in a Times Orange County poll rated firefighters’ emergency response as “good to excellent,” a pollster’s phrase that seems inadequate. A restaurant owner in Malibu gave thanks by feeding them. And that sign on Pacific Coast Highway seemed to convey a region’s sentiment: “Thank You, God Bless You.”