Couple survives Mission Canyon firestorm in bunker
From the wooden deck at Richard Martin’s Mission Canyon home, sweeping views of destruction can be seen in all directions.
To the north, on a hillside that butts up against his home, the smoking skeletons of three of his neighbor’s houses were visible through the burned limbs of oak trees. To the west, a steep slope littered with charred bushes and trees. To the south, downed power lines lie on the darkened earth (at the height of the fire’s siege in the canyon, the power lines fell on Martin’s deck). To the east, the blackened edges of the Santa Barbara Botanic Gardens are visible, as is the ridge beyond, where an occasional yellow-suited firefighter lugged a hose up a hill.
Yet, in the middle of this scene, Martin’s house stood mostly unscathed.
As the firestorm approached at 3 p.m. on Wednesday, police officers — two sets at two different times — knocked on Martin’s door, asking him to leave.
“I told them we were staying,” he said. “They were polite, they said ‘We recommend against that.’ They shook my hand and said ‘good luck.’”
Long before the officers arrived on his doorstep — 31 years to be exact — Martin, 73, knowing full well he lived in a canyon that could explode in flames at any moment, started preparing.
First he did the obvious, clearing brush around his home and trimming up trees and shrubs, creating what fire officials call “defensible space.”
Then he went the extra mile.
His home, a multilevel structure made of stucco, has wooden eaves, three large wood decks, and is surrounded by oak trees on steep slopes.
It’s the kind of home fires love to burn. So Martin took his fire protection measures to the next level.
He installed three Rain Bird sprinklers on the roof and built a concrete bunker in order to “have a shelter in a firestorm.”
The bunker is 5 feet by 7 feet. The space is just big enough for Martin, his wife Penny, two folding chairs, three filing cabinets filled with important documents and photographs, and an ample supply of food and water. The concrete walls of the bunker are about 8 inches thick; it also has a concrete ceiling. When Martin built it, he knew the day might come when his home would perish, so he put a 5-inch gap between the main home and the bunker, though it appears they are connected.
“Basically, we’re equipped,” he said.
Any proper East Coaster might scoff, writing Martin off as paranoid.
But firestorms in Santa Barbara County aren’t all that unusual, especially in the last year. And on Wednesday night, a firestorm is exactly what arrived at Martin’s doorstep.
Martin said the flames came unexpectedly from the west.
“I always expected it to come from the east,” he explained.
He said the flames charged down the hill behind his house, but he was ready: the sprinklers were on and he had water hoses around his house ready to fight spot fires.
Sometime around 5 p.m., flames had overrun everything around Martin’s home.
He said the flames were “coming from everywhere.”
Martin added: “The wind was screaming, embers were flying from everywhere.”
Every five minutes, Martin, with a bandana tied around his mouth and nose, would run around his house, putting out spot fires.
He said five minutes was about all he could take in that environment. The wind was blowing so hard, he could feel glowing embers smacking him in the chest.
“The firestorm, it insults all your senses,” he said. “If I stayed out [there] very long, I wouldn’t survive.”
The heat was nearly unbearable. On the north side of Martin’s home, the outside pane of two double-paned windows cracked from the heat. A plastic, circular thermometer mounted to the side of the house, melted, but remained in place.
“It sort of looks like a Dali thermometer,” he said, referring to the surrealist painter Salvador Dali.
Nevertheless, Martin periodically charged out from his bunker, spraying down the brush. At one point, a flaming log rolled onto the bottom step of his north deck, which if left unattended, most likely would have torched the entire house.
As fire crews and media trucks rolled up Mission Canyon Road yesterday afternoon, Martin and his wife were busy cleaning up ash and burned vegetation.
Martin surveyed the scene, recalling how his wife woke up at 4 a.m. and rushed outside to extinguish a pesky set of flames near their firewood pile.
“We probably put that thing out six times,” he said.
Comment on this article
: 5/8/2009
awesome story!!! : 5/8/2009
thank you!!!
CSommer
GREAT STORY : 5/8/2009
Thanks for this story. I needed to read something positive and this story was certainly that!
Cindy Sommer, Santa Barbara
: 5/8/2009
The determination of a pair of rugged Westerners! Amazing!!
Excellent planning and forethought... : 5/8/2009
Interesting article. Nice work by the Martin's, planning for this day well before it happeded. It would be nice for the fire dept. to know the bunker is there, just in case they themselves ever need to shelter-in-place in that area (though I doubt they'd actually fit in the bunker). The next person to plan a fire-bunker might consider adding enough square footage in case they have a guest to two...
Meagan
great story : 5/8/2009
I like this. It shows that with planning and guts this kind of victory is doable. No rocket scinece but good common sense.. and it saves not only a home but also gives a reward to the owner. Doing something instead of rolling over has got too feel so good when everyone arounf has thrown in the towel. Great to hav ethis uplifting story, thanks Daily Sound. PS I am reading this in Melbourne Australia... my home is in SB, fortunately away from the flames... for now!
ron doctors
fire : 5/9/2009
These people are champions.
Risky Business : 5/9/2009
I love that he prepared himself for this sort of disaster! Living in those hills, you must not only be "aware" of the dangers, but prepared mentally and emotionall for the aftermath. He took it a step further and became self-sufficient--I think most of the victims would prefer this route than abandoning their homes. Not safe, no doubt, but it's our natural instinct to "take care of our own". I applaud him and his wife for their preparedness and willing to fight it to the end. Perhaps a fireman's suit can be added to his "survival" kit. :-) Thank you for sharing such bravery and self-sufficiency.
Julie
Survival : 5/9/2009
Fire - Fantastic - Tao
Marcia Sherman
Humanists rock. : 5/9/2009
Richard knows better than to count on a nonexistent god -- he takes care of things himself. Well done, Richard!
Wow! What a story! : 5/9/2009
I'm so impressed, Richard! What a brave man you are and Penny too!!! That is an incredible story. I'm glad you two survived.
marianshapiro
Humanists rock??? : 5/9/2009
What an odd comment! I was sent to this story of survival by a staunch 5-point Calvinist. Very,very few survivors call upon thier own strength alone to get them through critical situations. Plan ahead troopie! We pray may God help you when your boat springs a leak !
Skip Fanning
this is familar : 5/9/2009
my father-in-law and i did this very thing on the edge of glacier park in 03, it worked so well i would do it again
HillBill
Smart People : 5/10/2009
Not only am I proud of the Martins, I am proud that all the comments I have seen were positive. Too many times when a family goes above and beyond to prepare for a 'what if' situation they are jeered at, made the butt of jokes and called 'crazy nuts' of some sort because they preferred to trust their safety to themselves instead of strangers. Outstanding job!
jarheadgirl
Shouldn't we read more stories like this? : 5/10/2009
When I think of history of the United States and the collective efforts of the people who have made what is great about this country I think of people like the Martins. People who use common sense in their approach to life in general and their homes in particular. This story is less surprising for its nature than in the seeming absence of others like it. When you think of American ingenuity, work ethic, and studied pragmatism it should come as no shock that there should be Martins courageous enough to survive firestorm assaults. It is a sad perception, feared reality, that there are far too few such true Americans left. If I'm wrong, let us hear and read more about them. If correct, let the Martin's story pull the collective heads out of the rears of those not worthy of the title 'American'. Either way, let there be hope for our future as a people that such folks exist to show us example. Bravo, Martins, bravo.
Citizen K
Couple survive Mission Canyon firestorm in bunker : 5/11/2009
Common sense for a change in California! Richard & Penny are certainly not a couple of effete elitists that unfortunately run and inhabit so much of your State. Well done you two and hope for a speedy recovery for your neighborhood. Cheers- Palo in Switzerland
Palo
Good prep, but be careful of outside conditions : 5/11/2009
Congrats on your success. Just a caution to others who may follow their lead: The air outside can get so hot or so smokey one wouldn't last 5 minutes -- an inhalation can sear your lungs and you collapse. Or if the radiant energy from enough close enough flaming surfaces can melt or ignite one's clothes much sooner. Wear all cotton, or better invest 200$ in flame resistant Nomex outer gear. So use your senses and don't stay out too long, or go into too smokey air, or too hot locations.
Applebox Bob -- Engine 224, Big Sur CA, 1977
wonderful example of dealing with and controlling fear.... : 5/11/2009
To many of us feel helpless at moments like this. Its funny how a 73 year old can teach us younins a few lessons on "action". Fear is the mind killer and immobilizes you, and since its healthy to have "some" fear to mobilize you, its bad to have too much fed to you daily or you become helpless. This was a great service for him to share this story
Pepper
fires : 5/11/2009
Did you get any pictures Jas?
Wow! : 5/11/2009
I think it's kind of ironic, them putting out flames near their firewood pile...
Bob
GREAT STORY : 5/12/2009
COOL GUY..........GREAT STORY.THANX,SOMETHING POSITIV.....:)AND THANKS TO A L L F I R E F I G H T E R S ,TOO
IRIS DI SANTO
uplifting story : 5/12/2009
Thanks for this --- and hurrah!!! for the Martins who were prepared and courageous — and for the firefighters for politely respecting their choice to stay and fight to save their house.
CRB
Thoughts : 5/13/2009
While this couple's story is truly amazing, I would caution others who may not have as much experience or knowledge as the Martins. Residents who build such a structure that is not as successful could get stuck in a fire with no way to escape. This is a great emergency back-up plan, but if it is possible to evacuate before a fire reaches your home, you should do so. It is better to get fire insurance and loose your home than to risk your life trying to be heroic.
Couple Survives : 5/14/2009
This is interesting. In a few years when the events of Revelation 8 explode upon the earth this will be a lesson on how to survive the firestorm.
Ed
preparation is all : 5/26/2009
Great story, and comments. Special thanks on the clothing suggestions. A breather with a hard hat over that Nomex would seem like the right outfit for those spot fire patrols. As to the officials 'respecting' their choice- that's the law. They can't make you leave. But if you aren't prepared like the Martins are, then you better know yourself as well as the law. I am curious about the water supply- is the Martin's house downhill from a reservoir?
Patrick
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