Flames leaped right up against Sarah Gabriel’s home near Williams.
“It doesn’t get any closer than this…I don’t even know how to describe how the house is still here,” she said.
The fire engulfed garages, outbuildings, cars and one home.
However, Gabriel’s home — along with about 150 others — was spared from the 500-acre Pacifica fire that broke out Friday afternoon near Williams.
“The house was surrounded by fire. You could barely see just to get out of the driveway,” she said.
“It took everything we had to stop it,” said Brian Ballou with the Oregon Department of Forestry.
Officials said they had 8-10 ODF engines, five helicopters, four air tankers and a slew of crews from Jackson, Josephine, Lincoln, Lane and Marion counties working the fire throughout the weekend.
“There were some pretty extraordinary efforts made to protect life and property,” said Ballou.
The cost of keeping the fire away from homes was substantial.
“Helicopters cost more than $5000/hour and a load of fire retardant is about $20,000.”
Ballou said he couldn’t comment on the specific estimate, but it would be accurate to say the bill will be in the hundreds-of-thousands of dollars. He said the money to fight these wildfires come, in part, from property taxes.
“A chunk of that goes to our firefighting coffers and this is why.”
Officials said they have a good idea, what caused the Pacifica fire, but can’t release it yet. They’re waiting to see if the state has a strong legal case to recover costs.
But whatever the cost, resident Sarah Gabriel is just thankful her family and belongings are safe.
“It takes a special kind of person to be a firefighter and I’m forever grateful,” said Gabriel.
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