A tribute to those who fought fires

It was a little too close for comfort.

But in the end, the fires that blackened local canyons and

hillsides recently were beaten back by responders whose fight was as

intense as the roaring flames that came so close to homes.

This is a chance to say thanks to up to 1,400 firefighters from

multiple agencies who spent four days last week battling the

1,100-acre blaze in the Verdugo Mountains.

Surely, without their effort, homes would have been destroyed and

perhaps severe injury would have followed.

It is reassuring that locally, the tri-city area -- Burbank,

Glendale and Pasadena -- have contingency and mutual plans for the

initial spark-up of brush fires and the possibility of hotspots one

the initial blaze is doused.

The Glendale Fire Department, for instance, was immediately

assisted their Burbank peers, sending out 10 engines and about 40

firefighters to help fight the flames, which ultimately forced

residents from their homes.

This fire was a reminder of what Country Club Drive resident David

Shafer knows well.

“They have this all dialed in on an evacuation and how to attack

the fire,” Shafer told the Leader. “This has always been a dangerous

area.”

Indeed.

The hillsides above the foothills are a dangerous region

vulnerable to what one Burbank Fire captain said was the whim of

Mother Nature.

Fires and mudslides are a humbling thought. But we can take some

comfort in our response in the midst of such danger. That included

local businesses, which responded to the call for food to feed

firefighters, and to John Muir Middle School in Burbank, where life

got back to normal this week after the school’s fields became home to

tents and portable kitchen units for fire personnel for four days.

The school’s principal remarked how little chaos there was on her

campus given the circumstances.

We’re thankful for that. It could have been a lot worse up there

in the Verdugos.