With the forward progress of the Bunnie Fire stopped, firefighters' main concern Thursday was getting the fire contained.
As of Thursday evening, the fire was 65% contained, with the number of acres burned at 184.
“Right now they're contending with the rugged terrain getting in there and making sure that we get all those hotspots out and digging that control line," Cal Fire Capt. Mike Cornette said. "That control line is down to bare mineral earth and about 10 foot wide around the fire.”
For Mindy Sloan, who had to evacuate when the fire broke out Wednesday morning, she couldn't thank them enough.
“I just had this incredible surge of love and warmth and gratitude for these young people who were coming onto my property to do nothing else but protect my house,” she said.
Sloan was teaching a class on Zoom when she smelled smoke coming into her home. The fire started near Bunnie King Lane, just over the ridge from her house.
“My windows were all open — beautiful day — and I said, I smell a lot of smoke in my house,” she said. "Right behind me in my yard was a fire."
Within 10 minutes, firefighters were at her door. They told her they were there to protect her home. Sloan said they knew exactly what to do and were on a mission.
"Some of them took chainsaws and started working on some of the brush," she said. "Others were walking around the house, moving my wooden picnic tables away from the house. I got a sense they were serious, very professional."
As the wind changed direction, pushing the fire towards her home, firefighters told her she needed to evacuate. The fire was close enough that she could hear the crackling of the fire as it moved through the brush.
Living in a high-fire-risk area, Sloan already knew what to do.
“I had already started putting what I thought was important, which is bins of pictures of my children, into my car,” Sloan said. She said she kept the bins in her garage, ready to go at a moment's notice.
"This is the stuff that matters," she said.
Sloan is still keeping everything in the car in case the fire flares up overnight. The fire stopped just feet from her home.
“I'm in shock that it came so close to my house,” she said.
Fire crews will remain at the scene through Thursday night, into Friday morning, when they hope to get the fire fully contained.
