A group of San Luis Obispo firefighters who went to help in the Southern California fires are back home.
San Luis Obispo Fire Department Fire Capt. Alec Flatos shared his experience down south, and he and his team brought some humanity to the communities devastated by the Paslisades fire.
"We didn't really know much about the fire until we were on our way, and then it was — Get ready," said Flatos.
He and his team found out just a half hour before leaving, that they were heading to aid in the Palisades Fire fight earlier this month.
He says they got there around 10 p.m. and got right to work.
"We were up in Pacific Palisades for the next 36 hours straight," said Flatos. "So, we were up for about 48 hours straight with no sleep, fighting fire, and protecting homes."
He and his team — Pat Larson, Luke Doolin, and George Kaperonis — spent 12 days in Southern California fighting the fires.
"We were in the Palisades for a number of days," he said. "So we were able to continuously watch that neighborhood and take some ownership of it."
Flatos has garnered some attention on social media for his team's hard work, because of a note he left in one of the homes they were able to save.
"I left a note on a house that I was really proud of my guys," said Flatos. "They worked so hard for maybe an hour or two, and we saved the house."
He says they went into the house to close the upstairs windows, to prevent the house from catching fire.
"We had to break in, run up, close those windows, and my boots were for sure muddy," said Flatos. "... I just did it because it seemed like a fun way to reach out to people, because we don't really ever meet the people whose lives we affect, or are affected in a wildland fire."
The photo of the sticky note made it all the way back home to his wife and two sons.
"The first time I saw it, it was a text message that had come through from somebody else who had seen it," said Lindsay Flatos, Alec's wife. "And I was like, 'Oh, what a sweet note, like that is so thoughtful,' and it was like bringing tears to my eyes, and I go, 'Oh my gosh, that's my husband!'"
"I was really happy that my dad did that, I think that was really nice," said one of their sons, Finn.
Flatos estimates he and his crew left around five to six notes in homes they saved.
"The amount of devastation was significant, and I knew when I was leaving the notes, I knew that was going to be hard because everyone's neighbors lost their houses, and so there were going to be very few people left and they were still going to still have their houses," he said. "And that was going to be rough for them. So just a little touch of humanity to say hey, you know, we were here, we did everything we can, and we're thinking about you."
Now Flatos and his team are back home and enjoying some much-needed time with their families.
