It was the fourth-largest wildfire in California’s history and one of the worst in Solano County.
Which is why local first responders say the LNU Lightning Complex Fire — which lasted 46 days, spanned several counties, killed six people, burned more than 350,000 acres and nearly 1,500 structures — is unforgettable.
“I’ve been here since I was 15, riding with my dad before that,” mused Vacaville Fire Protection District Chief Howard Wood. “I never experienced one that blew up like that.”
Last Aug. 19, Wood had just returned from a fire up at Lake Berryessa and was taking a break before heading back in a few hours. Or so he thought. Instead, he was dispatched to a blaze in Mix Canyon, which would turn out to be one of the many that merged to become the LNU Lightning Complex Fire.
Deputy Chief Doug Rodgers was first on scene and told Wood to stay back.
“He said it’s not safe. Don’t bring anybody up,” Wood remembered.
Rodgers helped residents leave, and crews spent the entire time aiding in evacuations. It was the first time in history that fighting a fire was not the top priority.
“It was a hard decision to make,” Wood emphasized. “But life comes first.”
Winds whipped around the blaze, sending embers everywhere. Eventually, the hills along Alamo Drive, the Pleasants Valley Road area, English Hills and others areas would be engulfed and, at several points, ran toward city limits.
“The city gave us all they could,” he recalled. “We were so far stretched out.”
The winds kept changing direction, even sweeping flames toward Allendale.
Help would later come from other cities and counties in the form of both firefighters and law enforcement as well as other emergency services personnel.
Wood said crews did the best they could and eventually doused the conflagration.
“The number one lesson learned was that weed abatement and defensible space 100 percent work,” said Vacaville Fire Chief Kris Concepcion. “That was proven to us over and over again.”
That’s why abatement and ensuring defensible space has been pushed so hard thereafter.
“We’re not hearing any kind of excuses from anyone,” the chief said. “There are no excuses because we saw it work.”
Evacuations were a success, he said, as an estimated 7,000 structures and an estimated 20,000 occupants were evacuated without injuries. The goal now is to educate people on the importance of preparation should they need to evacuate for any reason in the future.
With that in mind, the city has begun implementing the Ready, Set, Go program (https://bit.ly/3y6lgIg), which Concepcion helped create as a partnership between Orange County Fire and Ventura County Fire in 2009. CA FIRE now heavily promotes it.
“It teaches residents how to prepare their properties for wildfire, how to prepare for evacuations, how to evacuate quickly,” he said.
Due to the lack of residential landlines, Reverse 911 is no longer an option to reach everyone, Concepcion said, and advised residents to sign on with Alert Solano (https://www.solanocounty.com/depts/oes/alertsolano/information.asp), the county’s emergency notification system.
Don Ryan, emergency services manager with the county’s Office of Emergency Services, also encourages residents to sign up with Alert Solano but with a caveat.
“Sign up as an individual,” he said.
Apparently, if you sign up as a family, only the owner of the phone number used will be notified and not every person with a cell phone in that family.
Despite what residents want, he added, alerts don’t notify you of smoky days, just emergency threats.
He cautioned everyone to be aware of their surroundings and to be prepared far in advance for wildfires. Though officials have the new hi-lo sirens on their vehicles and those signed up will receive text alerts, there’s a possibility that you may be missed if your property is hidden, he said, so crews won’t know to knock on your door if they can’t find it.
“I stress personal responsibility,” Ryan added.
Which means keeping your property fire safe and making a plan for your family and your animals. Solano CART can help with the latter, he said, but are unable to help everyone in need at the same time.
If doing home renovations, follow fire codes and use fire-safe materials, he added.
Meanwhile, OES is working with cell providers to put up more antennas on cell towers, he continued, but help out by not shooting video in an emergency and instead, text.
“It uses up the bandwidth,” he said of videos.
Aside from thanking fellow first responders Wood said community members, themselves, should not be forgotten.
“They brought us water, food,” he said, coming to various locations including the fire house. They also helped each other.
“It was residents helping residents,” he said.
Going forward, he said, residents will still play a big part in helping others through similar emergencies but hopefully, all will be more prepared.
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A year later, first responders reflect on devastating rural Vacaville blaze - Vacaville Reporter
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