‘The whole area was torched.’ Creek Fire camper among the last to escape Mammoth Pool
A Madera man who was on the last National Guard helicopter out of Mammoth Pool captured scary smoke-filled images, with Creek Fire flames on nearly all sides of the water.
Sal Gonzalez was one of hundreds of people rescued in the predawn hours of Sunday. He lost his truck and a friend’s boat trailer to the blaze.
Gonzalez, who works at Madera South High School, said he and his buddies camp near Mammoth Pool every Labor Day weekend. This year, they rented a boat and transported their gear to a remote area at the China Bar campground.
When the group stopped at Mile High Vista on Saturday, they noticed the fire burning near Shaver Lake.
“We asked the ranger, ‘Is everything OK? Is it still open? Is it safe?’” Gonzalez said. The ranger told them the fire was far enough away that the group would be OK.
They docked their boats and noticed others on the lake with boats and jet skis, seemingly unaware of the fire.
Later at their campsite, they spotted flames coming over the ridge toward them. They were preparing to leave when a lightning storm started another fire behind them, Gonzalez said.
When Gonzalez and his group got back to their boats at Mammoth Pool, “the whole area was torched. That area was scorched left to right, north to south,” he said.
Fallen trees blocked the road, trapping hundreds of people at the lake with nowhere to escape, he said.
Gonzalez left his truck parked in an overflow parking lot. When he walked back to the parking lot, his vehicle was on fire. That’s when he realized he was trapped.
“It’s only one way in and one way out,” he said. “The roadway that led to there, you could see it on the hillside. It was torched.”
Gonzalez said he and his group were lucky because they hunkered down in their boats on the lake. After talking to others who were trapped, he learned some had to duck under water to avoid falling embers or dunk their heads in a creek to avoid being burned.
While his friends seemed concerned, Gonzalez said, he tried to stay calm and tried to keep the mood light by cracking jokes.
He was surprised to see the National Guard helicopters show up to rescue people.
“You couldn’t see no helicopters dropping water; you couldn’t see any firemen. All you saw was just burning left to right. And now you’re thinking, ‘What’s going on? Are we stuck here for days?’” he said.
Gonzalez and his friends were part of the last group to be rescued and flown in a helicopter to Fresno Yosemite International Airport. They arrived around 3 a.m., he said.
When the helicopter touched down, the passengers clapped and thanked their rescuers.
“I think they were just antsy to get off the helicopter and step onto soil where they didn’t see fire all around them,” Gonzalez said about his fellow passengers.
While Gonzalez said he never feared for his life, he said he knows of others who came closer to the flames. He advised anyone going into the mountains to do their research beforehand.
“In that situation, I think it’s best to stay calm and collected and prepare for the worst, but know things can get better.”
This story was originally published September 6, 2020 at 6:21 PM.