A firefighter on the Caldor Fire suffered serious burns and is being treated in the burn unit at UC Davis Medical Center, the Modesto Bee reports.
Richard Gerety III of Patterson was on a four-person engine crew from West Stanislaus Fire when he fell into burning material. It was his tenth day on the fire. He suffered third-degree burns on his arms and hands and second-degree burns to his legs, said his wife, Jennifer Gerety. The burns account for about 20 percent of his body.
She said he will undergo skin grafting surgery Wednesday and recovery is expected to take up to a month.
Thanks and a tip of the hat go out to Kelly and Dan.
“He’s in very good spirits but in a lot of pain,” Jennifer Gerety said by phone Monday from her husband’s bedside in the burn unit at UC Davis Medical Center. “He’s back to making his usual dad jokes.”
Hi Bill, thanks for today’s map. It looks like the crews are holding on to our neighborhood by a fingernail. It’s the east west rectangle in the left middle of the heat map. I’m so grateful for all the Firefighters on Caldor. My heart goes out to Richard, stump holes are just one of many hazards on the fire line, I hope he heals quickly. By the way, in a column you wrote a couple weeks ago you had a realistic assessment about stopping Caldor. It was the slap in the face I needed. Thanks again, Jim
You’re welcome, Jim. You may have seen the “realistic assessment” at the very bottom of this article on August 22.
Our prayers are with you, Richard. And all of you out there!
I just want you and your readers to know how much people like me appreciate what you do in battling and writing about these fires. It is incredible to think they can be influenced at all, and those out on the line and in the air put themselves at great risk for property owners and the general population.
I know there is debate about how to best manage our forests and these wildfires, but for those executing the gameplan, I have nothing but gratitude and repect.
Thank you!
Excellent read is Fire in the Heart by Mary Emerick !
Yes. Not a ‘what happened’ text, but a beautifully written journey into the motivations of one of those who chose to put one foot in the green and another in the black.
Richard!! Our prayers are with you. As Lone Ranger stated, burned out stumps and roots are dangerous as all get-out. If a stump is burning it’s a good bet that underground roots are too. They are just part of what makes the job so dangerous.
Hang in there Brother!!
Judy, Any of John N. Maclean’s books are excellent. I always made sure that they were available in the station for my crew to read and discuss. Another very good read is John’s dad Norman Maclean’s book “Young Men and Fire”.
All of Maclean’s books are indeed excellent. I’m familiar with them, and I think the best are The Esperanza Fire and River of Fire.
https://www.amazon.com/Esperanza-Fire-Arson-Murder-Engine/dp/1619022788
https://www.amazon.com/River-Fire-Rattlesnake-Mission-Boys/dp/069207998X
The kindle version of River of Fire, by the way, includes a lot of Kari Greer photos — in color.
The best non-Maclean fire book, I think, is Ben Walters’ first book FIRE CREW.
https://www.amazon.com/FIRE-CREW-Fireline-Ben-Walters/dp/061555248X
Hi Kelly,
I agree that Esperanza and River of Fire are probably John Maclean’s best works. I’ll check out the kindle version too.
I had met Richard Casaurang when I first went to work for CDF (Now Cal Fire) in 1966, as a seasonal firefighter. Richard was the CDF Ranger who took charge of the Alder Springs Road fire line on the Rattlesnake. Richard’s brother Don also worked for CDF and retired out as a captain. I had the honor of working for Don when I was a young pup in the outfit. Richard would talk very little about Rattlesnake. It was one of those events that one just tucks back in their mind and hardly ever lets out. I can attest that after almost 40 years in the business that I have tucked my share of incidents into the farthest corners of my mind too. Both Richard and Don were “old school” who learned their craft their craft well, and learned it the hard way.
HEAL WELL, RICHARD!! Of concern on fires like Caldor are stumps that have burned well below ground level. Filled with ash fluffed up by the intense heat, they can be almost invisible. A misstep into an ashhole, that’s what we called them when I was a ground-pounder, can lead to serious burns or in the least, having to remove your boots quickly due to high heat conducting through the Vibram soles. LR
Hang in there, Richard — and Jennifer! You’ll get through this …
Bill, do you recommend a book on wild fire fighting? Are you going to write one?
Thank you for your contribution to our knowledge and empathy.
Judy Cox
Judy, I recommend “The Thirtymile Fire: A Chronicle of Bravery and Betrayal“, by John N. Maclean. An excellent book.