'Let it Burn' Policy Smells in Cedar Glen Fire
Hugh Campbell is famous in California for flirting with death to save his home in the Cedar Glen fire. His area was road blocked to burn while a neighboring posh community was spared.
CEDAR GLEN, CA
Hugh Campbell is famous in California for flirting with death to save his home in the Cedar Glen fire. What smells about the situation is why there was a 'let it burn' policy in place -- which Campbell defied.
The aerospace engineer and Navy veteran drove around a manned road block in order to preserve his home, and he saved the homes of his neighbors on both sides while he was at it.
When he asked the officer at the roadblock who issued the authorization for the roadblock, asking him if he wasn't concerned about the constitutionality issues, the officer replied, "I don't care about the Constitution."
Campbell drove around the roadblock, cut out the undergrowth around his home, watered down his home and property, and that of his neighbors, built a quick cinderblock enclosure to hide in when the fire came, and then hunkered down.
A wall of flame 100 feet high raced through, but his home stood, as did the houses on either side. Everything else was a waste land.
In an adjoining area over the next ridge less than a mile away is a posh neighborhood with million dollar homes -- that was spared from the fire, with help from the fire fighters.
There were no fire suppression efforts whatsoever. They just blockaded the road and were going to let the whole thing go up in smoke.
"Never once did they do a water drop in our area," said Campbell. "There is a water pick-up point just 30 seconds away."
The word that Campbell overheard was that in his part of the forest there was "nothing but meth labs anyway, so just let it burn."
Curiously, just days after the fire, Campbell received an offer to buy his home and property.
"Something smells really bad here," he said. "Somebody was probably paid off."
He intends to get to the bottom of this.
He's going to posting his findings on a new website he is founding: http://www.paayestiwa.com/
Campbell may be located at
Hugh P Campbell
h_put_campbell@hotmail.com
(323) 359-4967
Updates an additional info on this story available here:
www.greaterthings.com/News/ColdFire/cedarglen031123.htm
SanFransisco Chronicle article about Campbell (Oct. 31, 2003)
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2003/10/31/MNG072NFKT1.DTL
Survival a matter of 'luck and stupidity'
Cedar Glen man risks all to save home
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