US:As the wildfires swept through California's residential areas, some people defied evacuation orders, writes Denis Staunton
Screenwriter Martin Daniel and his Grass Valley Lake neighbour Scott Garrett decided to ignore calls to evacuate their homes as the wildfires swept through California this week. The last time the fires struck, in 2003, they had left their homes and had to wait for weeks before returning.
So this time, they stocked up with food and other essentials and stayed.
They stockpiled water, filling rubbish bins and buckets before the supply was shut off, and placed them around the outside of their homes.
"I'm glad I stayed because I saved my house. My neighbour saved his and we saved four others," Daniel told The Irish Times by mobile phone yesterday from his home, where power and phone lines were still down."My neighbourhood is like a nuclear bomb hit it."
Although the neighbourhood in question was subject to a mandatory evacuation order, the authorities could not force residents to leave their homes. The two men sent their families away and were ready to leave themselves if they failed to save their homes.
At first, the fires seemed far away, but as hot 50mph winds tore through the hills nearby, Daniel found himself at the epicentre of the blaze.
"There was a moment when I literally thought it was life or death," he said.
"It wasn't so much fast as relentless. The fire would move across the hill and hit a house, which would go on fire and then explode. Then it would move on to another house."
Daniel and Garrett worked together to hose down the roofs and decks of their homes and of nearby houses while firefighters worked nearby.
"Then the firemen ran out of water and they left. There were raging fires all around and we started working with shovels," Daniel said.
By yesterday, the fires appeared under control and Daniel had "declared victory", but although his house has survived, most of the homes nearby are gone.
"We're on a hillside and if you stand in one particular position you just see total devastation," he said.
He blames climate change for the drought that exacerbated this week's fires, but despite surviving two severe wildfires in the space of four years, he has no plans to move.
"Everybody who lives here knows that this can happen. It's just a risk you take when you live here," he said.