A fire along Highway 101 just north of Ukiah Wednesday afternoon burned grass and trees to within a few feet of several homes and singed at least two roofs. It was halted from causing further damage by fast-acting neighbors and and many firefighters.
"Obviously, I have wonderful neighbors," said Catherine Andres, who came home to find one of them using a hose to douse a small fire on her roof.
A large force of firefighters, engines and helicopters arrived quickly and quashed the larger flames.
Bill Davis, a painting contractor and aspiring screenwriter, grabbed his bicycle and headed toward the fire in the York Estates subdivision after noticing the sky had suddenly darkened, apparently from smoke.
He and a young man he knows only as Peter began hosing the fire and warning people to leave their homes. At least one other person joined in the neighborhood firefighting effort.
"The neighbors all turned out," said Chuck Yates, a semi-retired Ukiah fire marshal.
Davis shoved his way into a home in the fire's path, urging the residents to flee. He went back into the house when he realized a little girl had gone back to find her cat. When she was safely out, he and his younger companion fought the fire with a garden hose, backing off when it spread to a nearby tree.
"The fire came over the top of us," Davis said. "I've never been that close to a fire."
Davis said he thought his bicycle had been destroyed but found it safe in a small unburned circle. Fire had burned within inches, he said.
"How damned weird is that?" Davis said.
The fire also stopped short of a car and circled one of the houses.
The blaze was reported just after 3 p.m., according to Cal Fire officials. The cause is unknown.
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
