July 10, 2007 7:56 AM
As authorities upped the acreage of the Zaca Fire to 9,500 on Monday,
Santa Barbara city firefighters recalled the harrowing rescue a day
earlier of two people sent to fight the blaze in a water-dropping
helicopter.
The two Skycrane helicopter pilots, who have not been identified, were
taking off from the helibase off Figueroa Mountain Road when they went
down at 4:07 p.m. on Sunday.
The pilot walked away from the wreckage, but the co-pilot was trapped
for about 20 minutes as firefighters worked to free him from the mangled
helicopter.
Both suffered minor injuries and were transported by ambulance to Santa
Ynez Valley Cottage Hospital.
Santa Barbara City Fire Department Engine 7 crew members Capt. Bill
Taff, engineer Hank Homberg and firefighters George Martinez and Mike
Mudgett, assigned to the Figueroa Helibase, were the first to respond to
the crash.
"When we saw the helicopter and the devastation, we were amazed that
anyone walked away," said Mr. Homberg. "Working for that end was really
incredible.
It's something all four of us will remember for the rest of our
careers."
As it happens, the crew had spent the morning with the pilot and
co-pilot, who briefed the firefighters on emergency helicopter rescue.

"We knew these guys pretty well," Mr. Homberg added. "So when we saw the
crash, the impact was higher than for a normal rescue."
When they saw the helicopter hit the ground, the four firefighters
responded within seconds.
"We were in our standby position, which has a view of the whole field,
and we heard something we knew wasn't right," said Capt. Taff. "Then the
helicopter keeled over and kicked up a bunch of dust and there were
pieces of the helicopter flying all over the place. We immediately put
on our protective equipment, got in the engine and were at the scene.
The whole thing took about a minute."
"That was our instinct, to just go there," added Mr. Homberg.
As soon as the four firefighters put a protective layer of foam over the
gushing fuel leaks to prevent combustion, Mr. Mudgett crawled in the
cockpit to free the co-pilot, whose legs were pinned.
"(The co-pilot) was absolutely very, very fortunate that he wasn't badly
hurt. The helicopter was severely damaged. It was crushed," said Capt.
Taff.
All air operations involved in fighting the fire were immediately
suspended, but resumed a short time later. The Figueroa Helibase was
also closed, grounding several helicopters that would otherwise be used
to fight the blaze, but reopened about noon Monday.
The cause of the crash is under investigation.
CAL FIRE and Santa Barbara County Fire Department also assisted in the
rescue efforts.
The Zaca Fire, which started July 4 when sparks from a metal grinding
operation ignited nearby brush, has spread into the San Rafael
Wilderness, east of Manzana and south of Sisquoc River.
As of Monday night, one abandoned shedlike structure had been destroyed
and 22 residences were threatened, including Zaca Lake Resort, Figueroa Area Campgrounds and cabins in Manzana Creek Drainage.
The wildfire has so far cost an estimated $5.9 million.
Several roads in the area of the fire have been closed, including Happy
Canyon Road to the east at Baseline Road, and Figueroa Mountain Road to
the east at Highway 154. The Figueroa Recreation Area campgrounds, south fork of La Brea area and portions of the San Rafael Wilderness are also closed, and all nonresidents in this area have been asked to leave.
Drivers on Highway
154 are asked to use caution and watch out for firefighting equipment
and personnel.
As of Monday night, there were 1,756 fire personnel, 44 fire crews, 117
engines, two helicopters, 34 bulldozers and 37 water tenders fighting
the blaze, according to CAL FIRE.
While the Santa Barbara City Fire Department Engine 7 crew isn't
directly fighting the Zaca fire, they are contributing to the safety of
the crews that are.
"I'm very fortunate to have these fellows with me," said Capt. Taff, who
remains stationed at the Figueroa Helibase. "They did an excellent job
responding to the downed helicopter. I was absolutely, totally pleased
with their work."
Mr. Mudgett summed up the experience like this: "We had jobs to do, and
we did them."
e-mail: hguzik@newspress.com
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