Veteran firefighter: Washoe Drive blaze worst of his career

Carson City's Ben Rupert is a seasoned firefighter. He's fought house fires and wildland fires. He's worked as an incident commander in training. He's even taught classes at the Reno Fire Academy.

But he was still in awe at the Washoe Drive fire that started Thursday, burning nearly 3,200 acres and destroying 29 homes.

"In my 25 years of fighting structure and wildland fires, this is the worst fire I've come across, even compared to the Caughlin Ranch fire," he said. "Because of the wind, it was shooting in different directions. The wind was swirling, too. Just when you thought it was going one way, it would come at you from a different direction.

Rupert, 46, recalled looking out the window during lunch at Lakeview Fire Station of the City of Reno Fire Department earlier that day.

"This would be an absolutely horrible day for a fire," he told his crew mates.

They had just returned from rescuing the drivers and passengers of two semi-trucks that had overturned because of gale force winds in Washoe Valley. Those winds, combined with the record dry conditions, would turn any spark into devastation, he said.

Just as fellow firefighters muttered in accord, another shouted out, "We've got a fire."

"You could tell by the color of the smoke it was a wildland fire," Rupert said, "but because it was in such a residential area, we knew it was going to be a threat to structures."

As they were pulling out of the station, he said, the alarm tones were sounding on the scanner.

"We were already ahead of the curve," he said.

His was the first crew to arrive, and the fire had already burned an acre and was spreading quickly.

"It couldn't have come at a worse time," he said. "That's when we were getting 80 mph winds."

Rupert was the first out of the rig and ran to pull a hose line.

"Just before I pulled it, the fire was right on top of our engine," he said. "We were engulfed in fire."

For a moment, he was stunned.

"I've been on so many fires and seen so many different things, but I was actually mesmerized for a few seconds," he said. "What line do I pull? How do I attack this fire? I pulled the line and knocked the fire off of Engine 16 and Tender 16. Once we backed out, the fire just kept coming after us."

He started into the fire, he said, with his brush gear on but soon realized he'd need his oxygen mask, even though it would mean decreased mobility.

"I was laying flat on the ground and knocking down fire all around me," he said. "I couldn't breathe at all."

As they extinguished the fire from one house, they would the flames would lick the walls of another, fueled by junipers and wood shake roofs.

They added more hoses and pushed forward. By the end, they had 2,000 feet of hose connected. On a "bread-and-butter" structure fire, Rupert said, only one 200-foot hose is needed.

Finding the fire was almost as difficult as fighting it.

"The smoke was so dark, you couldn't see an arm's length in front of you," he said. "But you could hear things exploding and you could hear the roar of the fire.

"At one point, all I could see was embers coming at me. It was coming parallel to the ground and blowing right at me."

A power line melted and arced at the ground in front of them.

At one point they thought they'd fought to the head of the blaze, saving all the homes, only to realize it had spread miles around them.

"When we had our area under control, I walked out to (Highway) 395," he said. "All I could see was a wall of fire."

Even open meadows, usually a natural fire barrier, were consumed in the blaze.

Rupert can't be sure how long they battled the fire to save five homes, but when they were done, he said, all four of them were on their hands and knees dry-heaving.

An ambulance had to come to wash out their eyes, and their captain, John McNamara, was taken to the hospital for a scratch to the eye.

But they had to stay to make sure the embers didn't re-ignite, torching what they had extinguished.

"We knew we were all in bad shape," he said. "But we still had to anchor what we had. We knew if we were going to save what we'd already saved, we had to anchor and hold."

They returned to the station about 3 a.m., Rupert said, and were called out on a medical emergency at 3:30 a.m. By 7 that morning, they were back on the fire.

It was the second catastrophic fire in the area in less than two months. The Caughlin Ranch fire in south Reno burned 2,000 acres, destroying 20 homes on Nov. 18.

He said the Washoe Drive fire was harder to fight because it was in a more rural area with more outbuildings and vegetation.

Carson City was spared a similar disaster last month, he said, when winds drove the Sedge fire into Brunswick Canyon and away from homes in the Deer Run Road area.

In his career, he's never seen such catastrophic fires this time of year.

"It's common to have fire starts, but because it's so cold and we have so much moisture, they're easy to get out," he said. "These are huge fires we've never had before. It's like having a fire start in the middle of August, but you add 80 mph winds."

Although an unpredictable and dangerous profession, he said, he was called to the job.

"It's a tough life, but it's a gift to be a fireman."