Hard Lessons in OC Canyon Country; Fires Mean Slides ‘69-‘21

(Silverado Canyon, Ca) – On Monday February 25, 2019, (Ret.) OCFA Battalion Chief Marc Hawkins respectfully approached the large wooden monument at OCFA’s Silverado Fire Station at 10:17 a.m.

He knelt down gently and leaned over to softly tape a handwritten note to the red wood.

The note, on bright white paper penned in thick black ink, was written by the veteran firefighter with over 41 years of service to Orange County in honor of those left behind 50-years ago by a massive mudslide following days of relentless rains.

He laid beneath his note a bouquet of wildflowers, vibrant in color.

The note read:

‘50 YEARS GONE; BUT NOT FORGOTTEN…. 2/25/69 RIP ROBERT, MAX, JANIE, MONTY & RICH’

He looked down and noticed another bouquet of flowers had already been left. He smiled.

Others had remembered too.

Their note read:

To The 1969 Mudslide Fallen Firefighters, Current Station 14 OCFA Firefighters.

This historical monument sits prominently in front of OCFA’s Silverado Fire Station. In 1969, the original Silverado Fire Station, then called “Silverado Fire Hall” by the locals, was just feet away from where the new station sits. It was an old adobe style station of brick and wood built with funds from FDR’s New Deal. Today, only a number of these historically classified fire stations still exist in Orange County.

Silverado Fire Hall was home to the beloved and long-serving residents that made up the Silverado Volunteer Fire Department. During the rains of January-February 1969, known as a rare 100-year storm, Silverado Fire Hall served as a shelter for residents who had lost their homes in the flooding, but also as disaster headquarters for anyone wanting to help.

It was on Tuesday, February 25, 1969, that after nearly a month of relentless and record breaking atmospheric river-rains and subsequent catastrophic flooding throughout Orange County and beyond, that a massive and deadly mudslide occurred in Silverado Canyon on the mountain directly behind the fire station shortly past 10 a.m.

NEWSPAPERS RECALL THE DAY OF THE DEADLY MUD IN SILVERADO

The initial news accounts of the deadly 1969 Silverado mudslide show how unprepared everyone was for what occurred. In the 1960s, Orange County was still very rural and most fire related services fell under the umbrella of the State of California Department of Conservation Division of Forestry, today called Cal Fire (www.fire.ca.gov/).
Unincorporated areas in Orange County, such as the historic silver-mining town of Silverado, fell to volunteers to serve the sparse, but growing mountainside population, during an emergency. And in 1969, that meant most of the calls were handled as professionally and promptly as could be by the Silverado Volunteer Fire Department, the Fire Explorers and the Women’s Auxiliary.
But on that day, it was the fire station and many volunteer (and career) firefighters themselves who found themselves in grave trouble.

The following is according to a 1989 Los Angeles Times article (https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-02-25-me-330-story.html):

Five people were killed and 17 injured in the Silverado Canyon mudslide, the worst of many throughout Southern California. For a solid month, an average of 7 inches of rain had fallen each day, swelling creeks and flooding streets throughout the region
By Feb. 25, the flooding had caused nearly $1 million in damage in more than a dozen cities, wrecking hundreds of homes and businesses and leaving scores of residents homeless.

It was a 100-year storm, a rare, devastating storm that is expected to occur only once every century.
Rain-loosened soil had slipped from the steep slope behind the (fire) station and lumbered down the cliff. It uprooted an oak tree that then became a battering ram, crashing into the station's back wall.

On that day, Hawkins was just 17-years old and a senior at El Modena High School in Orange. He grew up in Silverado and responded with the volunteer firefighters as a fire explorer.

So when trouble came, his loyalty was to his childhood community. He cut classes to remain in the canyon to help sandbag the area with others.

Hawkins had one three-month season under his belt as a seasonal wildland firefighter for CDF , but the rest of his actions on that day, along with so many others, was a gut instinct to help save lives.

More from the 1989 LAT story (https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-02-25-me-330-story.html):

"I was pinned by my leg and took about 20 minutes to yank my foot out of my boot to get free," he said. "It seemed like forever."

He said that as they remained imprisoned inside the building, "the creek rose up to the station and took fire helmets and equipment down the road. . . ."

The following ran in the evening edition the night of the mudslide in The Register: “12 Hunted In Silverado Slide”

At least one person was known dead and “possibly more” in a mudslide that struck at 10:20 a.m. today, the coroner’s office reported. Twelve are unaccounted for.

County Fire Warden Elmer Osterman, in charge of flood emergency operations in the area, termed the situation “extremely critical” and a gigantic effort on the part of about 500 flood workers and Marines was put into operation immediately in an effort to reach the buried persons.

The only communication from the fire station immediately after the disaster was a garbled and almost hysterical broadcast over a radio telephone from a dispatcher at the station who was flushed right out the main door when tons of mud slipped from the side of a mountain directly behind the station house.

“Get us out quick…at least 15 or 20 are buried alive in mud and debris…there’s lots of seriously injured here.”

Reports from the command post at the Irvine Lake Fire Station said the landslide had knocked out a retaining wall behind the fire station, caved in the rear of the building and the mud rushed through the entire building and out the front of the structure.

Silverado Fire Hall had served as the disaster headquarters for the “marooned community” and “…of the 40 men and women believed to be in the building….15 escaped, five were seriously injured and the rest apparently buried alive.”

According to the report, “two conservation crews were sent immediately to try to walk to the station and a desperate appeal was sent to the Marine Corps Air Station at El Toro for helicopters and emergency vehicles.”

The five people who were killed in the mudslide inside the fire station were:

Richard R. Black, Montell H. DeWitt, Robert Hendricks, Max Nell and Janie Schrowe

SURVIVORS JOIN 50-YEARS LATER TO REMEMBER, REFLECT AND HONOR: A FIREFIGHTER AND A RODEO QUEEN: A LOVE BORN IN A FIRST AID CLASS

Sharon Sleppy loves her man: a firefighter.

But when they met, he wasn’t on an engine, in a station or even on a call -- he was in a chute.

A Chute, is a pen that holds an animal safely in position

Born in New Mexico, Sharon’s family life as a young girl prepared her for the man she would eventually meet, fall in love with and marry.

“I’m an Air Force brat,” Sharon laughed, and proclaimed proudly.

Her father was special ops in the U.S. Air Force, so patriotism, sacrifice and adapting quickly to new situations werein her blood.

“I’ve grown up all over the world,” she smiled. “It defines who I am.”

By the mid-to late 1960’s, Sharon had moved to Orange County. She and a girlfriend enrolled in a first aid class in the City of Garden Grove and were classmates with a crew of firefighters from the Division of Forestry.

“Their red engine was parked out in front of the building,” Sharon recalled. “During a break, my girlfriend and I began to talk with them.”

She remembers vividly what they wore: green pants and a long-sleeve khaki shirt.

As the group talked, Sharon broke into laughter that triggered a memory for one of the men.

“He turned to me and said, “You’re from New Mexico, aren’t you?’” said Sharon, reliving that moment again wondering who this young man was.

He was John Sleppy, by that time a firefighter with the State of California. But he met Sharon years prior at a rodeo in New Mexico.

“John told me he remembered meeting me when I was the Rodeo Queen for a rodeo in New Mexico,” Sharon shared. “I was just 16 years old and he was 20.”

Apparently, years back, at that rodeo, John Sleppy, was smitten with the young Rodeo Queen and asked her to join him that night at the rodeo dance.

Sharon laughed retelling the story – remembering the interaction with that young, brazen cowboy.

“I told him that if he could ride the bronc, I would go to the dance with him,” Sharon laughed. “He was real cute.”

“He tried but got dumped in the chute!” Sharon said. “So I didn’t go to the dance with him!”

But that young cowboy didn’t leave that rodeo empty handed: he had the Rodeo Queen’s laughter in his heart and imprinted into his mind.
When the woman at the first aid class broke into laughter – he remembered who she was.

“He later told me he carried that laughter with him for 16-years,” Sharon smiled.

Their first date was at Knott’s Berry Farm. The couple eventually wed in June 1967.

Shortly thereafter, they moved to majestic Silverado Canyon to begin their lives together…

LIFE TOGETHER IN THE CANYON

Sharon adapted quickly to being the wife of a firefighter. While John focused on working his way up through the ranks as a firefighter, ultimately becoming a captain, she worked full-time as a waitress in Silverado.

“Not everyone can take the shift work,” said Sharon. “Back then, he worked 96-hours a week and was gone at his Trabuco Canyon fire station.”

For Sharon though, it was very similar to what she remembered life was like as a little girl.

“My father would be gone with a special ops assignment for two to three months at a time,” Sharon said. “Being a family member in the fire department is very similar to life in the military.”

She said that John was also gone on extended assignments during larger wild fires in California and other nearby states.

“He was on a strike team and would fight fires in Yosemite, central California and Yellowstone,” Sharon said. “He always kept his out of town duffle bag ready to go: towels, soap, shaving cream…”

WHEN THE RAINS CAME

Southern California got hit with an unusually long rainy season beginning January of 1969.

“We had about 38 days straight of rain,” Sharon recalled.
It was around that time that Sharon switched jobs and became a full-time school bus driver in Orange County. She drove a smaller yellow bus and kept it at home with her in Silverado.

“Around the time of the rains we were ferrying people down to the community center in Silverado Canyon in my little yellow bus,” Sharon said. “A little four-year old child asked the town Reverend, ‘Can’t you ask God to make it stop raining?’”

John was home in the days prior to the mudslide and spent time down at Silverado Fire Hall lending support to the volunteer firefighters and stranded community.

“I had made food at home in the Crock-Pot, put it in the car and took it to the fire station,” Sharon said. “John was at the station to help during the rains. No one could get out of the canyon and he couldn’t get to his Trabuco station.”

It was a community effort of supporting one another. Homes and cars were flooded. The tiny mining town was miles away from “the City.” It was a day by day effort for those in the canyon community to get through the rains.

And then, the mudslide occurred.

THE MUD BEGAN TO MOVE

On the night of January 24, 1969, Sharon accompanied her husband as they drove through the rural streets in Silverado turning off all of the propane tanks bobbing in the water.

“We slept in the fire station that night,” Sharon recalled. “There were a number of people in there. Just waiting until daylight to see what they could do.”

Max Nell was a local townsman who wanted to help.

“Max was a miner and was thinking about dynamiting some of the bridges with all of the debris and water backing up into the canyon,” said Sharon, who now in her 80’s has a sharp mind, but different memories from that day come to her at different times.

“Max was killed,” her voice trailed off.

The adobe fire stations in Orange County were all built with the same blueprint. Only a handful still exist today – exact replicas of the one destroyed in Silverado in 1969, and are protected as historic sites.

OCFA maintains one of the remaining stations in Trabuco Canyon, Fire Station 18.

The large building wasn’t fancy – but big enough in the mid-1950’s to house two fire engines and a rescue unit, a meeting area for the fire crew, a fire place, area for turnout gear and equipment, a laundry facility, kitchen, a first aid room/office and a bathroom. Some windows. Some doors. Brick. Mortar. Wood.

“I was standing in the kitchen and I looked up through the window to the back and screamed, ‘Omg, the water changed its coming straight down!’” Sharon said.

“I ran across to the first aid room to go out that side door – but everyone else was already there trying to get out,” Sharon said. “John was there pushing everyone out.”

Sharon turned then to run towards the fire trucks parked inside the large fire station. The mud pushed the fire trucks out through the front doors of the station.

“I ran to the fire trucks but I didn’t make it to them,” Sharon said. “The mud and debris came up behind me: it was like awave in the ocean.”

Sharon recalls being buried alive under 5-feet of mud and debris right near the fire place.

“The boot racks broke my jaw,” she said. “Eventually, the water overflowed the creek and came into the front of the station. It came in and was moving up on me. I was a little panicked.”

John didn’t make it out of the fire station either.

He was critically injured on the top of the pile -- and Sharon critically injured on the bottom.

“The sad thing is, of those of us that were buried, not many of us are still alive,” said Sharon. “John was pushing people out of the fire station that day…”

“…and the mud picked me up and it was like a big wave at the beach,” Sharon said. “I knew I needed to relax because if I stiffened up I would be more hurt.”

BURIED ALIVE IN ‘GLUE-LIKE MUCK’, SITUATION ‘EXTREMELY GRIM’

After the slide itself came the will to survive – and wait, in pain -- to be rescued.

“I didn’t call out to John because I knew he needed to stay focused to help the others,” Sharon said. “He didn’t need to think about me.”

Again, it was her upbringing that helped her in those critical moments.

“Having been raised in the military, I knew proper protocol and knew what was expected of you,” Sharon said. “I knew I couldn’t distract John from what he needed to do. He needed to concentrate on the situation.”

About three months before the slide, John taught the Silverado Volunteer Fire Department Firefighters and Fire Explorers a course on extrication right there at Silverado Fire Hall.

“He and I used to talk about that over the years,” Sharon recalled. “He would say, ‘That’s what you call a Divine Providence.’”

John’s pelvis was crushed in the slide but he continued to give commands to those inside the station, Sharon said.

“There was a gal on top of me who was pregnant, Jane Wareham,” Sharon said. “John kept saying to her, ‘Janie, Pray with me. We don’t know how much oxygen we have left, please don’t use it up screaming.’”

“We all went to Church together in Silverado,” Sharon explained. “They Prayed together out loud. I was to the point of suffocation. I knew I was having difficulty breathing. I said, ‘Lord please don’t let me drown, let me live to raise my children.’”

“And the water subsided,” Sharon said, crying. Recalling the memory too much for her still. “I’m so lucky to be here.”

“My grandfather appeared to me and said, ‘Sharon, you are going to be ok,’” she said, breaking down again in tears. Another memory from when she was buried alive.

Her grandfather was a major influence on her growing up. A special man who used to teach her so much. He was a writer – and she remembers when he wrote his stories for the Saturday Evening Post. Times when she knew she had to play quietly while he wrote.
He died when she was just 11. broke down crying.

Jane Wareham was roughly 8-months pregnant and was buried on top of Sharon.

“John was giving orders and I was thinking, ‘Honey you don’t have to be a captain till the end,’” Sharon said now, so many years later, and laughed a little. “I was so swollen and my eyes were black and blue. They asked me, ‘Who are you?’”

“‘Sleppy,’” she said she told them.

“They took me to one of the makeshift cabins where John was,” Sharon continued. She was 32-years old at the time of the mudslide.

“I had already been told by my grandfather that I was going to be alright, so I wasn’t afraid that I was going to die. I believed so strongly that my grandpa said I was going to be alright,” she said.

“I could hear people trying to get into us,” Sharon said. “And John kept reminding everyone of what he had just taught them months before.”

John would eventually be placed in a full body cast and would have to re-learn how to walk

THE MEDAL OF VALOR and LIFE AFTER THE MUDSLIDE

Months following the mudslide, John learned that he was named as the recipient of the California Medal of Valor by then-Governor Ronald Reagan for his heroism during the floods of 1969.

“John was the first firefighter to ever bring the Governor’s Medal of Valor to Orange County,” Sharon said.

John would eventually return to work in 1969 following the devastating mudslide.

“He went back to work at California Division of Forestry (CDF) headquarters on Water Street in Orange,” Sharon said. “He couldn’t get back on an engine.”

CDF eventually pulled out of Orange County because it was no longer as rural as it used to be; that’s when the Orange County Fire Department was created in 1980 – and John and many CDF firefighters made the lateral move to ORCO.

MEETING GOVERNOR RONALD REAGAN

Governor Reagan presented John with the Medal of Valor on July 9, 1969 in Sacramento.

“John helped a lot of people that morning,” Sharon said. “He shied away at first from receiving the medal – he was just doing his job; but he realized it was a great honor bestowed on all thefirefighters in Orange County.”

Both Sharon and John healed enough so they could make the trip up north. Sharon remembers there was a lot of excitement surrounding the trip, including being driven in a CDF State car, which was a very nice sedan.

“My mother said, ‘I’ll buy you a dress,’” Sharon laughed recalling shopping for a dress with her Mom for the award ceremony. “First we went to Buffums and I found a dress I really liked but it was rather expensive. Then we went to the May Company – and we found the same dress for a little less. Finally, we went to JC Penney and found the exact dress – and instead of $119, it was just $59.95.”

So they bought the dress.

“My heritage shows up,” Sharon laughed.

She speaks again of how influential her grandfather was – and how he was a very pivotal person in her life, teaching her morals and values she still holds dear.

“He would always say, ‘Pretty is as, as pretty does,’” laughed Sharon.

“Meeting Ronald Reagan was like meeting any other man -- he was just a regular man,” Sharon confided. “They handed me the pin to pin on John. We have a photo of Ronald Reagan peeking his head around to watch as I pinned the pin on John. He was just a down to earth wonderful man.”

RELIVING THE TRAUMA: 50 YEARS LATER

Sharon said that over the years John would comment on what a divine providence it was that he had taught that extrication class to the Silverado Volunteer Firefighters and Fire Explorers just three months before the deadly mudslide.

John and Sharon lost their Silverado home in the floods of 1969.

“We lost everything – but we didn’t, because we were still alive,” Sharon said. Everything in their home was deemed a total loss: Childhood mementos. Clothes. Family photos. “But when you think about it – those things don’t matter when you’re family is still alive.”

“I was buried for about two to three hours,” said Sharon. “A woman asked me in the hospital, ‘Why do you think you got to live?’ And I replied, ‘Because God is not done with me yet.’ John and I figured there were other things we were meant to accomplish -- and that God would show us.”

“Having been a first-aid instructor, I knew that if I thrashed about, it would make things worse,” Sharon said. “After I saw my grandfather appear, I knew I just had to wait. I just had a peace of mind and knew I would be ok.”

Montel (Monty) DeWitt was buried near Sharon.

“I could hear him moaning and talking,” Sharon said. “And he said, ‘Please God I can’t stand this pain, please take me.’”

“And then he got quiet,” Sharon said in almost a whisper. “I knew that for God to take him, it was his time.”

Both she and John were very faithful in their religious beliefs: something that would help them in the years following and in comprehending that deadly day.
And being married to a first responder taught her a lot about resilience.

“It was over. It was done with and we moved on,” said Sharon.“God allowed us to live. You have to move on though.”

“John would say, ‘The Lord Giveth, and the Lord Taketh Away,’” she said.

“As a fire captain, John saw a lot of trauma,” Sharon said. “But he wouldn’t dwell on things. And I was always there to support him. Not everyone has the same breaking point. We had each other -- and God.”

On January 3, 2013, John passed away. He was 79. He gave 35 years of service to the public as a firefighter and retired from the Orange County Fire Department in 1992. In 1995, ORCO became the Orange County Fire Authority.
John and Sharon were happily married for 46-years – and were still “newlyweds” by all accounts, when the day of the deadly mudslide occurred in Silverado in 1969.

“You need to live every moment because you don’t know when your number will be called,” Sharon said. “And like my grandmother used to say, ‘Whatever you dish out – good or bad, comes back twice fold.’”

“We were both lucky to be alive,” Sharon said.

Following the Medal of Valor ceremony in 1969, John was peppered with questions by reporters.

Sharon remembers vividly the following exchange:

“One reporter asked him if he would do it again – help save people…” Sharon said.
“John turned to the reporter and replied, ‘Sir, I’m a fireman -- that is my job.’

IN MEMORIAM

California Medal of Valor In Recognition of Fire Captain John Sleppy 1933-2013

For Heroic Service During The Floods of 1969

Due to heavy rains and flooding, people had sought refuge here in the Silverado Fire Station. Then on February 25th, cascading tons of falling rock, mud and trees collapsed the Station walls, trapping many and killing five. While escaping to safety, John Sleppy spotted a boy facing certain death in the path of the onrushing debris. Without regard to his own peril, John changed course and pushed the boy to safety, while he himself then sustained serious injury. For this unselfish act and his extraordinary courage, John Sleppy was awarded the California Medal of Valor by then Governor Ronald Reagan.

OCFA’s Silverado Fire Station sign reads:

This Memorial Dedicated To Those Who Gave Their Lives In Service To This Community: Hobart F. Eash, Hobart Pigmon, Richard R. Black, Montell H. DeWitt, Robert Hendricks, Max Nell and Janie Schrowe.

JOHN 15:13 GREATER LOVE HATH NO MAN THAN THIS. THAT A MAN LAY DOWN HIS LIFE FOR HIS FRIENDS

The first two names on the monument that stands in front of the new Silverado Fire Station, Eash and Pigmon, were Silverado Volunteer Firefighters who passed away years before the slide of heart attack, according to Hawkins.

The Silverado Volunteer Firefighters killed in the 1969 slide were Schrowe, DeWitt and Black.

“Janie Schrowe was not only the wife of Chief Bob Schrowe but she was also a Captain in the Silverado Volunteer Fire Department,” Hawkins noted.

Robert Hendricks, just 16, and a student at Villa Park High School and Max Nell, were not volunteer firefighters but both were canyon residents killed in the station that day, Hawkins said.

“They were both there that day to help just as I was,” Hawkins recalled.

In total, five people died that day inside the Silverado Canyon Fire Station.

///

Monday, February 25, 2019
10:17 A.M.
OCFA Silverado Fire Station
Silverado Canyon

As he stood at the fenced off foot-print of the original site ofSilverado Fire Hall in Silverado Canyon on Monday, February 25, 2019, (Ret.) OCFA Battalion Chief Marc Hawkins held his hot cup of coffee in one hand and with the other, pointed out the areas that the massive mudslide impacted 50-years ago that day. The bright morning sun shone through the historic canyon and shades outlining the green diamond-fence created silhouette on his black sweatshirt.

Despite the rains throughout February and into March, on that morning, the sky was a bright powder blue.

“There was a fire going in the fire place,” Hawkins began, as the long-serving retired Battalion Chief took himself back in time to when he was just a young teen with limited firefighting experience. He could still see the scene in his mind’s eye, he could still hear the screams in his memory, he could still smell the horror of that day’s mortal blow to his friends and fellow canyon residents.

And yes, it was painfully difficult for him.

But he refuses to let the memory of that day fade away.

He shows up every year on February 25th at 10:17 a.m. and lays flowers at the site.

“People were standing around the fireplace trying to dry out and get warm,” recalled Hawkins.

“When the slide came down, it took down everything – including the people standing at the fire place, and smashed them up against the side of the walls,” Hawkins said sadly, his arms motioning as he explained the fateful events of that day.

An aircraft flew by overhead, its loud engine echoing off the rugged canyon walls. The aircrafts noise first loud, then ever quieter as it moved further and further away.

Back to the canyon’s pristine quietness and solitude. Except for the memories of 50-years ago that day. That time.

Hawkins spent the night at the fire station the night before the slide. The rains had been coming down and the canyon residents needed help.

“All night long rocks had been hitting the back windows,” Hawkins explained. “The rocks had broken out a couple of the windows. We arrived up here on the 24th . Spent the night and just helping out canyon residents.”

“When the slide eventually broke loose, it was like an avalanche of dirt,” Hawkins recalled. “It brought down a big oak tree that was sitting in the middle of the station. People were pancaked against the side. And there was just a handful of us, probably five to eight of us, that were able bodied and non-injured, that were able to perform rescue.”

“The night before they had moved the rescue squad out into the parking lot,” Hawkins recalled. “That parking lot is now where the new fire station sits. But all around the old station were oak trees. It was full of oaks.”

A dog barks off and on in the background. Otherwise, the silence of the canyon with the sunshine through the trees creates an atmosphere of peace and well-being.

“Those, oaks played an important part in the air evacuations,” Hawkins said.

He continued to describe in vivid detail – and subsequently relive the events of 1969.

“There were five of us,” Hawkins said, pointing back into the footprint of the old adobe station. “We had people buried here. At the very top of the debris back on the top part of the fire place was a small, elevated window. It was about 2 ½ feet by 2 ½ feet.”

“The only one that was really small enough to maneuver through that window…” Hawkins said of his 17-year old self back on February 25, 1969. “…was me.”

“So we were trying to get to the people,” Hawkins said. “And on top of the pile was a lady by the name of Jane Wareham who was eight months pregnant.”

Hawkins slows down when speaking of Wareham. He holds his coffee cup with both hands. His face and eyes show the pain he’s reliving in his mind’s eye of what he heard and saw on that day.

“And she is screaming, ‘Save my baby! Save my baby!’” Hawkins said.

And he stopped …before continuing.

“Her husband was one of the survivors with me,” Hawkins said. “…trying to get to her.”

“I was able to get in to free her up,” Hawkins recalled. His voice now becomes strengthened as his firefighter mind recalls the details of the logistical rescue he performed as a 17-year old under incredible conditions. Not yet a fully credentialed firefighter. A fire explorer.

These were the rescues of his early life.

“She was lightly trapped by debris,” Hawkins continued. “I was able to get her through that window and pass her down to the other rescuers and survivors. The guys that were either inside the station that survived and got out or people that were outside of the fire station at the time.”

“Jane got out and went on to deliver a healthy baby,” Hawkins smiling.

As a result of Hawkins and the others who remained on scene to help in the immediate aftermath of the slide – instead of running for their own safety, not knowing if the massive rugged canyon wall directly behind them – overly saturated with rain, heavy rocks and oaks, would continue to break loose and continue to slide – Wareham and her baby survived.

Hawkins continued to describe the harrowing events of the 1969 rescue operation. He continued to explain how the rescue efforts were impeded because of the layout of the rugged canyon. Storm clouds. Massive oak trees. Flooding. Death.

“As I was mentioning with the tree issue, that afternoon, mind you the ceiling of rain clouds were down pressed in against all the slopes here in the narrow canyon,” Hawkins said, as he turned now away from the footprint of the old station to point to the stunning geographic landscape of the historical silver mining mountains of historical Silverado Canyon.

“And we could only get one helicopter in that afternoon and that one couldn’t land. It hovered and dropped medical Marine Corps military personnel – kind of like a M.A.S.H. type hospital, and at the same time, they lowered a cable and hoisted pregnant Jane Wareham out, Brian DeWitt, who had a broken leg and arm, and whose Dad was killed and buried by the debris, and Bobby Patterson, my high school chum, who came up with me to help the folks up here, he had a serious head laceration. They were evacuated to UCI Medical Center,” he said.

As the dog continued to bark sporadically in the background, Hawkins moved around to the right side of the old Station 14 footprint to continue to describe the details of the events of that day.

“We commandeered a back hoe that was parked outside at a construction site and we began digging and knocked all the bricks away of the station near the window. We were able to cut our way through to get to the survivors…” Hawkins said pointing towards the spot near the fireplace. “… and the fatalities.”

He paused.

“John Sleppy was the first person we took out of here and he was broken up badly,” Hawkins recalled. “Collar bone, pelvis, femur, broken arm. But he was conscious. And he was coaching us. He was saying, ‘Remember what I taught you in first-aid.’”

Hawkins explained that in 1969, Sleppy was a Captain for California Department of Forestery – formerly abbreviated ‘CDF,’ which is now CalFire. Sleppy had trained Hawkins as a young Silverado Canyon fire explorer in advanced first aid.

“He survived!” Hawkins said. “We were able to get him out but he was just broken to pieces.”

“Before Sleppy was buried that day he was at the back of the fire station when the slide broke loose,” Hawkins said. “He pushed a little boy out a back door that day and saved that child’s life. Sleppy was then pushed along by the debris and buried in the station.”

Hawkins said that on October 5, 2013 they dedicated a plaque to Sleppy on the monument that sits in front of the current Silverado Fire Station. Sleppy earned the Medal of Valor from then-California Governor Ronald Reagan for Sleppy’s actions that day in saving a young boy before he himself was buried by the mud and debris.

“Of the fatalities here, there were five, I knew four of the people very well,” Hawkins said. His eyes shifted downward at the recollection alone. “Of the five people killed, three were volunteer firefighters and two were civilians.”

He stopped to reflect on what he had just said. His hand not holding his coffee lightly groomed his signature mustache before he continued.

“We removed four of the five fatalities during the day that day,” Hawkins said, his voice lowered in memory of the victims. “And mind you, it was nothing like the kind of sophisticated rescue companies -- the USAR programs and heavy rescue programs that OCFA provides now. We had a light rescuevehicle with just the bare essentials.”

Hawkins said they were forced to park the rescue squad outside the night before to make room for the large numbers of displaced residents seeking shelter. That turned out to be a stroke of luck thus making all of its rescue equipment available and undamaged.

Hawkins said that of the scores of people inside the fire station many were injured – some critically.

“We were left with all of these victims we had to treat also,” Hawkins continued.

He said that when the military personnel dropped in they set up an emergency room in one of the cabins just down the single lane street on Wildcat Canyon.

The force and power of the sliding mud and debris pushed the two fire engines that were parked inside out the front half of the station – thus creating an escape route for those people not trapped or lightly trapped, Hawkins remembered.

A FIRE EXPLORER TURNS OUT

Hawkins, who grew up in Silverado Canyon, was part of the fire explorer program in the canyon as soon as he was eligible to participate by age. The Silverado Volunteer Fire Department sponsored the fire explorer program. There was also the Silverado Volunteer Fire Department’s Women’s Auxiliary Program.

“We responded on everything that the volunteer firefighters responded on,” said Hawkins, describing his early days in Silverado as a fire explorer. “By the rules, we assisted outside the fire building. But the reality of the situation was that during the day the men who were the firefighting force were downtown at their jobs, so then the Women’s Auxiliary got going. And then the explorers would roll on the calls as well. We ended up assisting the ladies during the week. It was wild. It was wild.”

And it was that real time experience that helped give Hawkins the preparation he needed as a young teen to respond as a man when he was put to the test. And he did.

But he admits – it was a life test for him he didn’t know was headed his way that day.

“I felt scared to death,” Hawkins said. “It was fight or flight – all I wanted to do was run…”

“…to realizing that all of my buddies, all of my friends were in there,” Hawkins said, beginning to tear up. His voice cracking with emotion at the memory. “And then all of us safely outside, including many volunteer firefighters – going into rescue mode.”

The moment the fire explorer truly became a firefighter. No piece of paper needed. It’s in someone’s blood to do what Hawkins did that day alongside so many brave others.

Not running away ---

But like they say – running into the fire.

THE RESCUE: IT WAS PERSONAL

At the time of the slide, Hawkins had done a season as a wildland firefighter with CDF. This “season” was three months between his junior and senior year at El Modena High School.

But on the day of the slide, he instinctively shifted back into fire explorer mode being alongside the Silverado volunteer firefighters.

“I had my fire explorer gear,” Hawkins said. “Just taking orders from them and helping!”

And you could see it in his eyes as he spoke. And no doubt, he would do it again. And he did – going on to serve in OCFA as a firefighter and working his way up to becoming a highly respected Battalion Chief amongst the ranks.

And in all his years after the slide – he never saw anything in all of his firefighting years that matched the scene of February 25, 1969.

“I went to Hurricane Katrina, and certainly that was a devastating situation there,” Hawkins said. “And I’ve seen a lot of other stuff….”

His voice trailed.

“But not so personally involved,” he admitted. And again, he remembered that day. “These were my friends. These were all family friends.”

His face began to shift with emotions. His eyes seeming to water with tears that he held back.

TRYING TO HEAL: 50 YEARS LATER

The day is truly a difficult one for Hawkins to process – even 50-years on.

Robert Hendricks, a Fire Explorer alongside Hawkins, was killed on 2.25.69. He was a junior at Villa Park High School. They grew up together surfing at Salt Creek Beach and playing Little League Baseball.

“There’s nothing harder than growing up a surfer boy in Silverado Canyon,” Hawkins laughed, trying to remember the innocence he once had before the rains came in 1969. “He was a longtime friend.”

Hawkins talked about processing the emotional toll of the slides all of these years.

“I can only give you my experience….” Hawkins said.

“It was a lot easier for me to talk about it back then versus talking about it now,” Hawkins confided. His eyes gathering with tears. “I don’t know why.”

“These guys were the real heroes,” Hawkins said. “They died in service to their community.”

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Monday, February 25, 2019: Lunchtime
Silverado Café, Silverado Canyon

We slid into the corner booth of the wood-paneled, saloon style Silverado Cafe right around lunchtime. The weather was bright and cool that day in Silverado, a 141-year old mining town designated as a California Historical Landmark that runs seven stunning and picturesque miles along the Santa Ana Mountains in eastern Orange County.

A lively modern art stained glass design hung in a square wood frame from the window adjacent to our booth and the early afternoon sunlight illuminated its vibrant colors of orange, green and blue.

On the wall next to the window was a replica poster of “Ride Him, Cowboy” – a 1932 silent Western film starring a 25-year old John Wayne.

The nostalgic and unassuming neighborhood diner – part Cooks Corner, part Snug Harbor, was where stories from his past and highly decorated career would be shared.

And not just any stories.

These were incredible stories spanning 50 years that show the heart, soul, dedication – and passion, of a firefighter: (Ret.) OCFA Battalion Chief Marc Hawkins.

“…man is a bundle of relations, a knot of roots, whose flower and fruitage is the world…” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

THE RED LEATHER BOUND SCRAPBOOK

Hawkins set down a large, red leather bound scrapbook on the marble green tabletop between us.
He was dressed casually in khaki shorts, black sneakers, a black cap embroidered with a Thin Red Line American Flag patch (honoring firefighters) and black Orange County Firefighters Emerald Society sweatshirt.

He is warm, affectionate, kind-hearted and really funny. He gives hugs and looks you square in the eye.

And he has grit.

ICED TEA WITH LEMON, COFFEE, CREAM AND LOTS OF REFILLS

Our waiter was a very kind young man. He gave us the lunch specials and asked if we were ready to order. Marc ordered a BLT.

And I tried to get away with simply ordering some “fresh fruit.”

“Oh, no…You’re in the canyon,” Marc laughed. “Order some meat.”

I knew I wasn’t going to get away with the clean and polite side of fresh fruit. So I turned to that kind waiter and said, “What were the specials again?”

When you’re in the canyon – at a local diner, with a highly respected retired Battalion Chief with almost 41-years of firefighting experience, you order the meat.

So, as a compromise – I ordered the street tacos with pork (that he kindly did not laugh as I ate it with a fork and a knife).

“I HAVE NO AMBITION IN THIS WORLD BUT ONE, AND THAT IS TO BE A FIREMAN. THE POSITION MAY, IN THE EYES OF SOME, APPEAR TO BE A LOWLY ONE; BUT WE WHO KNOW THE WORK WHICH THE FIREMAN HAS TO DO BELIEVE THAT HIS IS A NOBLE CALLING. OUR PROUDEST MOMENT IS TO SAVE LIVES. UNDER THE IMPULSE OF SUCH THOUGHTS, THE NOBILITY OF THE OCCUPATION THRILLS US AND STIMULATES US TO DEEDS OF DARING, EVEN SUPREME SACRIFICE.” – CHIEF EDWARD F. CROKER

Many moons have passed since Tuesday, February 25, 1969. Republican Richard Nixon was inaugurated a month earlier as the new U.S. President. The Beatles began recording for Abbey Road which was released in September of 1969 and included hits such as: Come Together, Something and Here Comes the Sun.

And Southern California was experiencing intense flooding from rare storms that occur once every 100 to 300 years, experts say.

What causes these rare storms

Experts say “atmospheric rivers.”

Atmospheric rivers are relatively long, narrow regions in the atmosphere – like rivers in the sky – that transport most of the water vapor outside of the tropics. These columns of vapor move with the weather, carrying an amount of water vapor roughly equivalent to the average flow of water at the mouth of the Mississippi River.

When the atmospheric rivers make landfall, they often release this water vapor in the form of rain or snow.
https://www.noaa.gov/stories/what-are-atmospheric-rivers

SILVERADO CANYON, THE FIRE SERVICE AND THE FLOODS OF 1969

The fire service in America in 1969 was evolving. From continuing to work on ways to attack the Fire Triangle itself – oxygen, heat and fuel, to ground breaking innovations in apparatus and firefighter gear, to lessons learned from some of America’s biggest fire related incidents, such as The Great Chicago Fire of 1871, the San Francisco Earthquake and Fire of 1906 and Boston’s Coconut Grove nightclub fire of 1942.

As California and Orange County continued to develop as people migrated west, governments were faced with where to strategically place fire stations in the effort to protect life and property.

Large urban city fire departments have particular challenges with limited resources, working in high-crime areas, leveraging relationships with city-wide institutions, reaching multicultural communities and getting residents to focus on fire safety,according to the National Fire Protection Association.

Community Risk Reduction is defined as programs, actions and services used by a community, which prevent or mitigate the loss of life, property and resources associated with life safety, fire and other disasters within a community, according to nfpa.org.

“In 1969, the Orange County Fire Department was a contract to California Division of Forestry, now known as CAL FIRE,” Hawkins explained. “So until May 1980 when we all became County employees we were working for CDF.”

“The adobe stations were typical for most of the volunteer stations and all but one over the years closed due to annexations or incorporations i.e. Garden Grove, Buena Park etc. (the one serving Los Alamitos is now the city museum on Los Alamitos Blvd. The last remaining one still in service is Trabuco (old designation) or Fire Station 18, volunteer station. This one is also designated as historical,” Hawkins explained. “The Silverado Fire Station was completed in Sept. 1948. The Ladies Aux. was established May 12, 1949; these were wives and were purely social. Then on June 13, 1957 they were incorporated to assist in firefighting and rescue duties. Training was done and on September 29, 1958 they began their duties as Volunteer Firefighters – Auxiliary Fire Dept. with all the same benefits as the men.”

On February 25, 1969, Marc Hawkins was a 17-year old senior at El Modena High School in Orange. Having grown up in Silverado, he knew the canyon well. The oak and sycamore trees. The Manzanita and chaparral. The lilacs and orange California poppies.

He was athletic, adventurous and thrived in the outdoors. A team player by nature, he decided to become a fire explorer as soon as he was eligible.

“My first introduction to the Fire Service was in Silverado at age 14 where I was a Fire Explorer,” Hawkins said. “Our post was sponsored by the Silverado Volunteer Fire Department and aftera certain amount of training we were allowed to respond and help the Volunteer Firefighters on fires and other emergencies.”

When the rains of February 1969 continued to flood his treasured mountainside hometown of Silverdo, Hawkins -- known as “Hawk” amongst friends and firefighters, skipped school to help canyon residents in whatever capacity he could as a fire explorer.

Our story begins and continues with the men and women who have dedicated their lives to helping people. The heritage of fire fighting has always been one of bravery, loyalty, and devotion to public service. This is a personal calling that places one's life in jeopardy every day, which makes the career of fire fighting truly a proud profession. – City of Orange

Volunteer emergency responders make up 73% of the fire service throughout the US. The volunteer emergency service is an extremely valuable national resource, protecting neighbors and saving taxpayers money. If you have the commitment and motivation to make your community a better place, consider volunteering with your local fire or EMS department.

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Even more for Hawkins, two of his three sons surprised him in coming to join their father this year up at the Silverado Fire Station monument February 25th.

One of them—following in his father’s footsteps as an Orange County Fire Authority Captain, brought along his daughter and Hawkins precious granddaughter.
She proudly wore a fire hat and stood alongside her grandfather as he honored and remembered those lost on February 25, 1969.

In years past, Hawkins would bring his three sons to the Silverado Fire Station every year to honor and remember the events of that day.

He later said of his sons surprise arrival, “That really warms my heart,” Hawkins smiled softly.

CHAPTER 2: 2021 BOND FIRE LANDSLIDES

PREDICTING LANDSLIDES: IF IT BURNS, IT WILL SLIDE

In Southern California, our fire season is year round. Since 2016, the push for Californians to ready, set, go and build defensible space has transcended fire service parlance to everyday people.

But what happens after knockdown, mop-up and incident command centers demobilize?

Preparing for the next phase in the hydrologic cycle: evaporation, transpiration, condensation, precipitation and runoff.

USGS.GOV POST-FIRE DEBRIS-FLOW HAZARD WARNING SYSTEMS

Wildfires can significantly alter the hydrologic response of a watershed where even a modest rainstorm can produce dangerous flash floods and debris flows, according to the USGS.gov.

Experts have designed the Emergency Assessment of Post-Fire Debris-Flow Hazards prediction tool that estimates the probability, volume, and combined post-fire debris-flow hazard based on a design storm with a peak 15-minute rainfall intensity of 24 millimeters per hour (mm/h).

SILVERADO CANYON RAINFALL DATA FOR MARCH 2021

Just how much rain caused the earth to separate from 3,000-ft high fire-scarred canyon walls March 10th before saturating portions of Silverado Canyon Road?

USGS.gov experts predicted in its Preliminary Hazard Assessments for the Bond Fire burn area in Silverado Canyon a “60-80% likelihood of a debris flow in response to the design rainstorm with a peak 15-minute rainfall intensity of 24 mm/h,” the exact locations of the majority of the mudslides:Grundy, Anderson and Olive. https://landslides.usgs.gov/hazards/postfire_debrisflow/detail.php?objectid=373

Rainfall measurements on March 10th according to:
SILVERADO CANYON ROAD AND BELHA WAY - KCASILVE5 Elev 1726 ft, 33.75 °N, 117.60 °W, exceeded the 24 mm/h rainfall amount: 1.06 inches = 26.92 mm, according to the Personal Weather Station Dashboard | Weather Underground
Inches to MM Converter

‘OH NO! HERE IT COMES’

Videos surfaced early Wednesday of the mudslides occurring in various areas in Silverado Canyon.

First responders and cooperating public agencies descended on the small mountain town. OCFA made a robust response despite the hard-to-access area with narrow roads and overgrown fuel. Not a lot of defensive space for our firefighters at the base of hillsides that are upwards of 3,000-feet.

Agencies warned residents to evacuate, but some remained. Some couldn’t get out at that point.

OCFA was on scene throughout the incident that demanded only the best could be in command — on the ground and in the air surveying the canyon from above. Partnered with them was OCSD who assisted with evacuations so firefighters could do their job.

“These residents that have stayed they need to be careful,” OCFA PIO Captain Steve Concialdi told ABC 7 news reporter Leticia Juarez live from the scene on March 11th, another day of rain and destruction. Silverado, Modjeska and Williams canyons: Evacuation orders remain for OC canyons after mudslide - ABC7 Los Angeles

Concialdi implored residents choosing not to evacuate to be safe in the life-threatening situation unfolding around them as hazards remained throughout the area.

“If you’re in an area where you saw a lot of mud and debris flow yesterday or last night, you need to leave the area and get to a safer area,” Concialdi said.

EVACUATIONS ARE EVERY RESIDENTS PERSONAL DUTY AND RESPONSIBILITY NOT JUST DURING MUDSLIDES— BUT WILDFIRES AS WELL

OCFA Fire Chief Brian Fennessy, named one of the Register’s 100 Most Influential People in Orange County in 2020, pleaded with the public during a televised press conference for the Bond Fire in December 2020 (https://youtu.be/oqlhTp8wHjI) to use their individual intuition on when to evacuate during rapidly evolving wildfires.

“Even if you don’t see smoke. If you’re listening to this news conference — and you don’t see smoke, you don’t hear sirens, you don’t get the reverse 9-1-1, but you have a concern that maybe the fire is a little too close, that’s enough,” Fennessy told the news media. “That’s enough to have your belongings prepared and to evacuate.”

He continued about the importance of individual responsibility when it comes to the seriousness of evacuating during natural disasters.

“You don’t have to wait for us to call or for us to be on the sirens,” Fennessy said. “I can’t tell you how many times that I’ve heard people say, ‘Well, I just didn’t realize that the fire was going to get there as quickly as it did.’

He highlighted how those who delay evacuating make it harder for first responders to do their job.

“When you do that, when you leave late, you make it very difficult for both law enforcement and large fire apparatus to get in there and protect and defend those homes,” Fennessy said. “So please, please, please, if there is any doubt— please evacuate.”

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LINKS/REFERENCES

https://www.usgs.gov/products/data-and-tools/real-time-data/landslides

https://www.usgs.gov/natural-hazards/landslide-hazards/science/early-warning-system

Emergency Assessment of Post-Fire Debris-Flow Hazards

https://landslides.usgs.gov/hazards/postfire_debrisflow/

https://www.ocregister.com/2020/12/23/most-influential-ocfas-brian-fennessy-and-his-firefighters-battled-wildfires-and-pandemic

https://www.ocregister.com/2020/12/20/most-influential-meet-orange-countys-100-top-influencers-for-2020

https://youtu.be/oqlhTp8wHjI

Silverado, Modjeska and Williams canyons: Evacuation orders remain for OC canyons after mudslide - ABC7 Los Angeles

Day of the Deadly Mud : 1969 Floods: Tragedy and Heroism Mix

February 25, 1989|LUCILLE RENWICK | Times Staff Writer
http://articles.latimes.com/1989-02-25/local/me-330_1_mud-and-debris

https://volunteerfirefighter.org/#/

https://www.noaa.gov/stories/what-are-atmospheric-rivers

https://www.cityoforange.org/206/Department-History

https://www.ocfa.org/Residents/ReserveFirefighters.aspx

https://calisphere.org/item/833e1b79d1490f10a263fc457160f525/

www.fire.ca.gov/

https://calisphere.org/item/833e1b79d1490f10a263fc457160f525/

Day of the Deadly Mud : 1969 Floods: Tragedy and Heroism Mix
February 25, 1989|LUCILLE RENWICK | Times Staff Writer
http://articles.latimes.com/1989-02-25/local/me-330_1_mud-and-debris

https://www.ocfa.org/Residents/ReserveFirefighters.aspx

https://calisphere.org/item/833e1b79d1490f10a263fc457160f525/

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