Fire trucks line up at Almanor Lakeside Resort on a recent evening. The resort has been providing weary firefighters with a place to sleep, shower and rest for free or at a nominal fee. Photo by Clint Koble

News

Resort thanks firefighters with a good night’s rest

August 1, 2021 Editor

By Clint Koble

Special to Plumas News

Like many or most resort operators in Plumas County, the owners of Almanor Lakeside Resort on the Peninsula suffered the loss of most reservations this month because of the Dixie Fire. For some of our absentee owners, it was stressful not knowing whether the cabins they worked much of their life for, were safe.

Fortunately for us, fire fighters from Santa Rose and Petaluma were looking for a place to stay and we we felt fortunate enough to offer them our entire resort of 12 cabins for free or a nominal fee. Giving them bed linens, towels, and a bar of soap besides a roof over their head and a bed didn’t seem like much to the owners considering what these men and women were doing for us and everyone in Plumas County. It is heartwarming to see their big trucks lined up in our parking area and to know that we could make part of their long days a bit better. As one fire fighter put it “You feel like fighting a fire after a good night’s rest”.

You get a real sense of how good people can be when they thank you profusely, since they are the ones performing the service for us. It’s difficult to see them arrive, tired after a 24-hour shift with no sleep, as they slowly walk to their cabins to shower and get some much-deserved rest. What is great to see and hear is their voices and their spirit at 5:30 a.m. as they check their engines and equipment, ready to do what they do best. Seeing them leave in tandem before 6 a.m. with a smile on their face and determination to do something good makes you want to stand at attention and salute them as they head into the monstrous Dixie Fire.