WEED -- In the wake of a wildfire that destroyed dozens of homes in Northern California, Thomas Janow helps people search the rubble of their homes for fragments of their life.
Safes that survived the blaze. Necklaces amid the ashes. And, on Sept. 16, a wedding ring that belonged to Kathy Besk.
"It just comes down to being in the right place at the right time and doing the right thing," said the 25-year-old Cal Fire firefighter.
A resident of Corralitos, Janow is stationed in King City. But when the wildfires broke out, he and his crew were dispatched to help combat the Boles Fire, which forced the evacuation of 1,500 residents and the damage or destruction of 150 homes and eight commercial properties.
In Weed, a city just 50 miles south of the Oregon border with a population of about 3,000 people, the fire devastated the town. After the flames were extinguished, fire crews went through the area to make sure hot spots in the rubble didn't grow into another fire.
"Half of the town was pretty much destroyed. So we had to just control our areas and make sure nothing else flamed up," he said. "But we helped the people that we could, finding things in the wreckage and rubble."
Authorities secured the scene tightly and all of the people they saw were former residents of the home, Janow said.
In driving around with his crew — Capt. Nick Gelos and firefighter Scott Sherrill — they saw Kathy Besk picking through the ruins of her home. She was digging in the area where she thought two rings — her wedding ring and grandmother's ring — might be. So Janow and the other firefighters knelt down to help search.
After about 30 minutes of careful digging, Janow unearthed the ring, prompting Besk to gasp and burst into tears. The moment was broadcast on ABC-7 Bay Area.
"We just found my wedding ring of 44 years in all of this mess," she told a cameraman. "God answers prayers."
Putting the charred ring onto her hand, she smiled and said, "It's still just as pretty. It still shines."
Janow said the luster of the ring caught his eye as he was digging.
"Now there's one more," Besk said sheepishly. "That was my mom's ring."
More digging and persistence led to the second ring and a second moment when Besk burst into tears.
Janow admitted he almost cried himself because the moment was so emotionally charged.
"I was pretty happy that we actually found it and made her day," he said.
While the video lasted two minutes, the two-man crew was sifting through the ashes for 30 minutes to find the quarter-sized rings.
"It's all part of our job," Janow said. "We're here to help the people of California, and you can't just give up because it's hard or you don't find it. You have to do the best you can, and I knew we were going to find it."
After the moment, Janow went on to help other people look for other memories. Now, Janow is stationed near Lake Tahoe to combat the King Fire and expects to help countless others.
"You walk up to somebody that needs help and you don't know what it's going to be, but you do your best to help them," he said.
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©2014 the Santa Cruz Sentinel (Scotts Valley, Calif.)
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