An old saying goes,
”
The fence that makes good neighbors needs a gate to make them
good friends.
”
Dick Swank, his employee Asvoldo Chiaria and several others from
Swank Farms today used such a gate to get onto the neighbor’s
property with a tractor and disk a firebreak that was instrumental
in aiding firefighters’ quick containment of a 15- to 20-acre
wildfire.
An old saying goes, “The fence that makes good neighbors needs a gate to make them good friends.” Dick Swank, his employee Asvoldo Chiaria and several others from Swank Farms today used such a gate to get onto the neighbor’s property with a tractor and disk a firebreak that was instrumental in aiding firefighters’ quick containment of a 15- to 20-acre wildfire.
Firefighters had no shortage of equipment and manpower at about 10:15 a.m. when a blaze was reported on the property of Al Enos near the Hollister Municipal Airport. CalFire Battalion Chief Ken French and his local crew quickly gained control – with the help of Swank and his employees – of the fire threatening Enos’ barn that is heavily populated with animals.
CalFire and others handled the grass fire despite the local base having 42 area firefighters sent to the massive blaze in the Santa Cruz Mountains.
“We have two strike teams assisting them up there, made up of one engine out of each station around here as far away as Monterey,” French said.
It might seem that this would have limited response to the fire on San Felipe, but French continued: “Because this is a ‘local response area,’ we had plenty of firefighters and trucks and we had one come over from Bear Valley. What really helped though was that we had local help from the Swank outfit.
“They came right in and started disking in front of the fire. If it had got across the disk lines, it would have blown across the road and threatened structures on that side. That’s what kept it from spreading to the barn and other areas where the animals are located.
French said Hollister Animal Control staff responded as well and assisted in evacuating the horses to a safe area.
Enos confirmed the importance of Swank’s participation.
“He’s the one that saved this place with his men and tractor, and then he just gave me a bunch of hay to help with the fact that so much of mine just burned. It would have been a hardship if he hadn’t given it to me.”
Supervisor Julie Carreiro was the first person from animal control on the scene. She spotted the smoke and, knowing the location housed many animals, called the rest of the employees to come help. She, however, shared the common sentiment that it was the quick action of Swank’s men and proximity of their tractor that saved the fire from spreading, the animals from danger, and the structures from burning. “Swank’s guys were great, they were all out here helping,” she said.
About the only person who doubted whether his organization saved the day was Swank, who blew off any credit, but stated: “I had Asvoldo bailing hay and he noticed smoke and called me. The tractor was right there, so I just told him to get on it, go through the gate, and start disking.”
The fire, which started along Highway 156 from an unknown cause, was completely contained by 11:30 a.m. despite strong winds. A fire crew remained behind to continue soaking the grass, but the danger had passed by that time.
