Mariposa Strong: Fire crews save town from French Fire

MARIPOSA, Calif. (KFSN) -- Burnt brush, the smell of smoke and ashes still linger in Mariposa county, where the French fire flames scorched through the area on the 4th of July.

"Every time you hear fire, you get panicky," said Mariposa resident, Robert Cooper.

For Cooper and Anthony Miller, it wasn't their first time experiencing fierce fast moving flames.

"I was actually evacuated 4 times in 22 years," said Cooper. Miller is no different.

"It was pretty scary because when the Detwiler hit us, the whole town got evacuated for three days," said Miller.

While the French fire destroyed four homes, firefighters were able to save the unique gold rush town of Mariposa.

Skyview30 video shows how close the flames came to Mariposa County High School.

"From starting out from day 1, we realized that it was going to be a fast moving fire so we ordered resources pretty rapidly," said Cal FIRE Madera-Mariposa-Merced Unit Battalion Chief, Jonathan Beery.

But it wasn't just the ground crews that helped get a handle on the blaze during daylight.

"With our new aircraft capabilities with the new hawks and night flying capabilities, it was recommended to me that we start some of that so we were able to order three of those night flying helicopters and it definitely helped out with the success of the incident," said Beery.

Even with the increase in containment - crews are still working on clean up and putting out hotspots.

Fire crews also implemented a pre-existing fuel break in the area that helped battle the flames.

Now - residents are thanking them for keeping "Mariposa strong."

"I'd say God bless em and thank you for doing what you do, we wouldn't know what to do without them," said Miller.

"It's like they say, it's Mariposa strong, that's what we're known for," said Cooper.

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