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Mater Dolorosa Retreat House Grass Fire, Aug. 10, 2002

Click here for the Mater Dolorosa main page

Two Sierra Madre youths found out that it is not wise to mess with bottle rockets, especially on the  hot, dry days of August.  At approximately 12:30 Saturday afternoon, SMPD and SMFD received a call reporting a grass fire at the Mater Dolorosa Retreat Center.  SMPD officer Jarrett Hale was first on the scene, followed shortly thereafter by Officer Lisa Volpe and Officer Keith Abbott.  The three PD officers used fire extinguishers and began clearing brush to attempt to slow down the blaze until the Fire Dept. could get there with the "heavy artillery" to extinguish the  blaze.  Six units from SMFD and one from Arcadia Fire Dept. responded, according to Battalion Chief Tony Lerner, who estimated the blaze burned just over half an acre of the area that the Retreat Center uses as a parking lot during its annual Fiesta.  According to Retreat House staff member Eloise Gomez, she smelled smoke and checked outside.  When she stepped outside the smoke was so thick "you could chew it", and she was concerned that the fire was closer to the buildings than it actually was.  She called to staff inside to dial 911, and received help from some children inside who immediately had the presence of mind to begin filling buckets of water.  However SMFD was on the scene before they could be utilized, an earlier call having been made (by neighbors of the monastery?).  Officer Mike Delgatto told me that at one point, because there was some difficulty getting hoses through, he had jumped in the water truck and turned on its front sprayers, driving straight through the blaze.  Retreat house staff member Charles Carter stated it was a good thing that "Brother Joe just mowed this whole area about a week and a half ago or so."  Several firefighters were heard thanking God not just for the recently mown brush, but that the winds were not strong, as the fire's proximity to both the Retreat Center structures and Bailey Canyon would almost certainly have assured a much larger, dangerous blaze burning right up into the hills.  Carter further stated "Everything went very smoothly, and I'm very proud of the job done by the Sierra Madre Fire Dept. and the Police Dept."  The youths were released into their parent's and grandparent's custody.  Both will be meeting later in the week with Sierra Madre Fire Dept. officials for further counseling, and possible disciplinary action.  A tip of the hat for the hard work and quick action of Sierra Madre's Fire Dept. and Police Dept. that prevented this blaze from becoming a catastrophe. I was in Duarte at the time of the blaze, and rushed home after a call from my wife.  By the time I arrived on the scene, the blaze was extinguished, and crews were in the mopping up stages.  I took some pictures though, of the mopping up operation. 

Click on the thumbnail to see a larger picture.

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