Tuesday, Aug. 05, 2008

Mariposa gearing for football despite horrors of recent blaze

By JAMES BURNS
jburns@mercedsun-star.com

MARIPOSA -- Bob Kelly considers himself lucky -- one of the few in combustible Mariposa County these days. The first-year football coach at Mariposa High watched as the Telegraph fire -- one of the worst this season throughout the state -- ripped through the brush near his home last week.

It crept to within two miles of his property line along Highway 140 near Midpines.

The scene from his back deck was eerie. The afternoon sky had been painted black with smoke, while the thwack-thwack of helicopters and the wail of fire engines could be heard for hours.

Mariposa's football players and coaches -- like all residents -- have had to deal with fallout from the blaze.

Besides the danger to life and property, the fire's aftermath has created even more hassles for athletes trying to get fit for their sport.

But neither coach nor team will use the fire as an excuse -- or as false inspiration.

THE TURNOUT in front of Kelly's home on Whitlock Road was converted to a base camp of sorts -- a rallying point for thousands of firefighters, from places near and far, to recover.

"The sun looked like a stoplight," Kelly said of his Sunday afternoon scenery. "I hadn't seen something like that since a wildfire in Santa Cruz 25 years ago. That's when I knew it was bad ... that things were pretty serious."

Knock, knock, knock...

Local authorities acted quickly, insisting that Kelly and his family grab what belongings they could and evacuate the dwelling.

That was the morning of Monday, July 28.

They weren't in immediate danger, but they were advised to act as if they were.

The same warnings were being delivered in potential hot zones all across the county.

Kelly didn't waste time.

He loaded large family heirlooms onto a flatbed truck and stored precious photos -- like an Ansel Adams shot of Yosemite Valley, the very place he proposed to his wife -- into his car.

"They told us we should get out," said Kelly, who has two infant children, ages 3 and 1. "A sheriff came by at 2 in the morning and then came back again a little bit later.

"He said, 'When we come back, you better be ready to go. Adults can stay, but the kids will have to leave.'"

Fortunately, it never came to that.

The fire was eventually contained, and before long, Kelly was given clearance to unpack his belongings.

That was Wednesday.

"The danger was never imminent," Kelly said in a tone equal parts amazement and relief. "Mainly, it was just a big inconvenience. It wasn't like what other people had to go through -- people who lost their homes."

Telegraph has left more than 34,000 acres in smoldering ash, cost an estimated $35 million in firefighting efforts and claimed as many as 54 homes and outbuildings.

And though Cal Fire reports that they've reached 95-percent containment -- signifying to many that the blaze is finally under control -- folks around Mariposa County will be answering to the flames' fury for years to come.

"We have fires up here quite a bit. This just happens to be a bigger one than we're used to," said former Mariposa football coach JC McNally, who spent the weekend helping his longtime assistant and local cabinet maker Alan Dayhoff evacuate his home on Whitlock Road.

"It was weird. You could feel the heat -- and we were a mile away. I know that it sounds crazy, but you could feel the heat radiating. And you could hear it, too. It was spooky the way it was just roaring."

SPIRIT SURVIVES

The Mariposa football team is just a snapshot of the current plight around Mariposa County.