Firefighters Risk Lives to Save California Hatchery

California fire fighters made a special effort to protect the facilities at the Mt. Whitney Hatchery on Saturday, and although valuable rainbow trout brood stock were lost, the facility itself survived. “Nine firefighters, after evacuating an elderly woman from a residence just above the hatchery, were over-taken by the fire and survived by jumping in nearby ponds. ‘There was 20 minutes where they were surrounded by fire and hollering on the radio,’ [fire information officer Jim] Wilkins said. Water drops were made around them. They suffered minor burns, and six were hospitalized with respiratory problems.” Dave Strege in the Orange County Register.