Living in a remote location sometimes requires being self-reliant and not being able to wait for authorities to handle the emergency.

Such was the case July 6 for the residents of Sciot’s Tract along Highway 50.

Several people ran to the highway when they heard a loud explosion. A car towing a trailer was engulfed in flames, and the threat of the fire spreading to the forest was real.

“We jumped on it like a trained team,” Bob Cole told Lake Tahoe News. “We had to pry the hood open to get in there. The car was totaled. There was no paint, no tires.”

No one was hurt.

But that didn’t mean Cole didn’t feel a sense of panic. When he first arrived he didn’t know if anyone was trapped in the vehicle. He admitted his adrenaline was pumping.

The irony is this housing community had never had a fire drill until earlier in the day. About 40 people got out the old fire hoses, practiced how to use the equipment.

No one expected it would be a matter of hours before the training would be tested.

They passed the test. The fire was nearly out when the first official – a California Highway Patrol officer – arrived. And it was out when Lake Valley firefighters arrived.

— Kathryn Reed