LVVFD Calls: Car thieves caught partying at an illegal bonfire

I was on the Lee Vining Volunteer Fire Department for 15 years. This was one of my first few calls after joining. Some names may be changed.

Monday May 6, 1996, 9:00 pm

Several of us arrived at 6:00 pm to take a CPR refresher course from the medics. All evening, during the class, we were hearing on the radio that the Sheriff's Department was looking for a couple of women in a red pickup truck, and they called out off-duty officers and deputies to take a look. Somebody mentioned a bonfire out at the new Mobil gas station under construction on Hwy 120, but it was under control so they didn't call us out.

After a while, our siren went off, and we were called to put the bonfire out. We all ran downstairs, got our turnouts on, piled into three separate trucks. Tom and I were the last ones to arrive--by then there was already water from a hose hooked up to a hydrant on it. It wasn't out of control--the deputies just wanted us to put it out.

The backstory was that they didn't have a fire permit, and the USFS had told them they would give them one, but they didn't accept. The deputies arrested the caretaker while we were there. Also, around the same time in early 1996, a windstorm blew down the framing of the gas station building while it was under construction, setting back the construction schedule to the (temporary) delight of those of us who valued the Mono Basin's dark skies.

Also, the two wanted women were found there after they stole some blankets. The truck was found abandoned. After running the license plate, deputies found that it was stolen five days ago in Redding, PA. Deputies looked everywhere, found one woman, and then found the other one at this place partying with the workers who had lit the fire (there were beers on the ground next to the fire). The Forest Service was going to bill them for suppression costs for us.

After we put it out, we hosed it down even more, and then set the hose on it (weighed down with some rocks) to spray on the smoldering pile all night. We headed back to the barn, took our CPR tests, chatted, and headed home at 10:15 pm.