‘Old Glory’ recovered from California fires. Firefighters helped her fly again

Despite all the tragic news coming from Northern California, a few warm and fuzzy stories have surfaced here and there – like the one about homeowners returning to find their dog they thought was dead or lost; or the one about a new baby girl receiving lots of new gear after the parents’ supplies were lost in the fire.

And now another: Merced firefighters on Thursday found an American flag untouched by the devastating fires and hoisted it up over a pile of rubble that used to be a home.

ABC 7 Eyewitness News posted a video of the patriotic act with the caption “GALLANTLY STREAMING,” and soon many Twitter users reposted the video with the lyrics to the “Star Spangled Banner.”

The Merced Fire Department posted an update Monday about how crews were helping up north. Merced firefighters helped protect homes from flames and were tasked with holding fire lines against the Lobo Fire in the Grass Valley area, then were reassigned to the Sonoma County fire lines, the post said.

The post noted that Merced County Fire’s Engine 279 “found #oldglory” and “were able to get the colors flying again.”

This story was originally published October 16, 2017 at 3:02 PM with the headline "‘Old Glory’ recovered from California fires. Firefighters helped her fly again."