(Illustration by Joe Dworetzky/Bay City News)
Casey O’Neill is a farmer and owner of Happy Day Farms in Laytonville, Calif. The opinions expressed in this column are not those expressed by The Mendocino Voice.
In 2008 the Lightning Complex fires had so many incidents that there were few resources available to respond here on Bell Springs. It was a scary time, with the large fire on Red Mountain unchecked for days. Community members hiked into a smaller fire on the Adanac ranch, and with the help of bucketloads of water from a Cal Fire helicopter, we got a line cut around it and stopped the spread.
I remember hiking into that fire with my McLeod tool, with its sharpened hoe on one side and a rake on the other, and a backpack of water and snacks, following the pieces of toilet paper tied to tree branches as markers like a weird Hansel and Gretel tale. It was my first experience with fire, and though the bulk of the work was already done by the time I got there, it was exhilarating to see our community in action, the shared camaraderie created by stress and difficulty.
The Red Mountain fire was stopped by a backburn that prevented it from reaching homes in our neighborhood, but the experience left a mark that served as the motivating factor for launching the Bell Springs Fire Department. We took the administrative steps to become a nonprofit organization, began gathering gear and soliciting donations from the community.
It’s hard to believe that 17 years have passed, yet in that time our department has grown into a solidifying force in our hill community. Neighbors who have passed on left money and resources to the department, helping us to acquire a parcel for a building that serves as a community center, and we will begin construction on a new firehouse in the year to come. We have expanded the number of fire engines and our capabilities as a volunteer department, learning how to work together through training that helps us get a handle on the equipment and how we respond to fires.
In 2021 a fire started in the neighborhood that nearly burned our farm. The flames made it to the end of one of my vegetable tunnels, singeing a few tomato plants, but my fire pump was able to push water through sprinklers and fire hoses, and we stopped any further damage from happening. In our Mediterranean climate, we accept that fire is not an “if,” but a “when,” and this motivates us to work together to be prepared.
A plume of smoke from a fire started by a lightning strike burns near Highway 26, in Calif., on June 24, 2024. (Vivienne Aguilar/CVJC via Bay City News)
One of the biggest aspects of our fire department is the annual benefit that we put on at Tan Oak Park. It is a highlight of my summer, a chance to see people I love as we gather in celebration to raise money for equipment and other needs. It’s one of the things that Laytonville does best; we know how to have a good time for a good cause, and yesterday was no exception. Big shoutout to everyone who worked to make it happen, and to all the folks who came out in support. When we pool our limited resources together we can accomplish great things!
As August draws to a close, I think about the drudgery of summer work in the heat, the fortitude and determination that are required. I feel recharged by the experience of getting to see so many people I love, of getting to celebrate and enjoy food, music and fellowship. I’m reminded that gathering together is the glue that strengthens our communities, that when we show up for each other we help to prepare ourselves for what the future may require. We build strong bonds that hold us in good stead when times get tough, and I am invigorated to go to training and continue the work of the fire department.
On the farm I’ve managed to solve a conundrum that has plagued me for much of the summer. The irrigation system has been saturated with algae, clogging filters that I normally clean once a week in a single day of irrigation. The problem hasn’t been happening at brother Lito’s, even though both farms share the big pump that sends water to both our tanks. I went through a list of possibilities, but nothing made sense, and I was baffled by the problem. Then, Friday night I had a realization that the smaller auxiliary pump that sends water only to my side must have slipped its mooring under the dock and landed in the mud at the bottom of the pond.
Sure enough, when I went down and waded out to the dock I had to haul the pump back up and reset it. I was short on time because we needed to get to the fire department benefit, which of course meant that in the process of resetting the pump I broke the main outlet fitting so the pump was just flowing back into the pond. With little time to spare I ran home and got lucky in the fitting department, finding a female threaded by male slip fitting, the necessary clamps and Teflon tape and the tools to accomplish the fix.
All’s well that ends well, and I headed off to the benefit riding high on having solved the water puzzle. As we say on the farm, it’s always something. As always, much love and great success to you on your journey!
Casey O’Neill owns and runs HappyDay Farms, a small vegetable and cannabis farm north of Laytonville. He is a long time cannabis policy advocate, and was born and raised in the Bell Springs area. The preceding has been an editorial column. The Mendocino Voice has not necessarily fact-checked or copyedited this work, and it should be interpreted as the words of the author, not necessarily reflecting the opinions of The Mendocino Voice.
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