Surveying the Creek Fire’s destruction — and how I rescued a parrot from China Peak
So many places in California are famous throughout the world.
Shaver Lake, Huntington Lake and Mammoth Pool are not. Same goes for Shuteye Ridge, Tamarack Ridge and the Kaiser Wilderness. Those names are familiar mainly to generations of Fresno and Madera County residents who recreate and escape there.
They’re our little secret.
Which is why watching so much of the Sierra National Forest get scorched by the ravenous whims of the Creek Fire (175,000 acres in six days) wounds us deep down in our souls. There’s nothing more personal than cherished memories. And even though those experiences are flameproof, we can’t help but mourn.
In the midst of all this gloom, along came a ray of good news in the form of a 20-year-old African gray parrot.
Yes, a parrot. His name is Blue.
Blue is the “little buddy” of Mark “Sully” Sullivan, the beverage manager at China Peak ski resort and purveyor of Sully’s Pub. Sully is the type of guy who has a lot of friends, including me.
Wednesday morning I drove into the fire zone up Highway 168 just to see it with my own eyes. Before leaving, a Bee colleague informed me about a story making the rounds on social media: Blue had been left at China Peak by its owner and was in need of rescue. #SaveBlue
I immediately texted Sully but got no response. But planning to head up there already, of course I’d look in on his parrot.
That’s the least a friend can do.
Gotta admit, though, Blue was not on my mind during the drive up. Aside from the convoy of fire trucks headed up the four lane, the foothill roads were eerily quiet and the surroundings blanketed in thick smoke.
The first visible sign of fire damage began about a mile below Pine Ridge. To the south, great plumes erupted from fires raging in the direction of Tollhouse and Burrough Valley. When the road reached Cressman’s Store, a local historic landmark burned to its 116-year-old foundation, the grim reality set in.
Between Pine Ride and Shaver Lake felt kind of random. In some spots, the forest appeared untouched. In others, completely burned. I was relieved to see Shaver village still standing — thanks to the efforts of brave local firefighters — and areas around Camp Edison, Fresno Beach and the Sierra Marina relatively unscathed.
Battling blazes at China Peak
Visibility climbing up Tamarack Ridge was horrible. I followed a caravan of fire trucks (not too closely) going 10 mph with their headlights on and hazards blinking. Every conifer I could see through my truck windows was charred.
The damage didn’t seem as bad approaching China Peak, where a couple dozen firefighters were gathered while awaiting assignments. I immediately drove to the rear of the resort where some employee housing units had burned the night before. There, I saw Fresno Fire Department Capt. Chad Tucker and Huntington Lake Volunteer Fire Department assistant chief Brad Driscoll battling more blazes.
It was then that I remembered my alternate mission. I informed Tucker of my intent to check in on Blue, drove into the ski resort’s base area and parked next to Mainstream Station, the large yurt where Sully had left him.
I didn’t get the full story till later, but Sully didn’t intend to leave his beloved bird in the Creek Fire’s path. When China Peak was evacuated Saturday, Sully left Blue at the resort (with ample food and water) thinking he’d be allowed to return the next day.
However, after Sully got down to Shaver, he got a phone call from his sister informing him their father was gravely ill and on his death bed in their native Massachusetts.
Sully caught a flight out Sunday morning, but not before calling everyone he could think of about Blue.
“I’m the only flock he has, and I let him down,” Sully lamented over the phone. “I went into complete panic mode.”
Rescue just in the nick of time
Entering Mainstream Station through an unlocked door, I immediately heard chirping and saw Blue perched atop his cage. The air inside was smoky, but not as smoky as out. It was then that I fully realized it was up to me to get this parrot to safety.
That’s what friends do, right?
The trickiest part was getting Blue back in his cage. After resisting my attempts to get him to perch on my finger by biting, the parrot seemed to get the message and went in by himself.
I quickly closed the door, secured the latch, covered the cage with a sheet Sully had left and squeezed it into my cab.
Before departing China Peak, I informed Capt. Tucker about the parrot rescue just so no one else would go looking. He told me that section of the resort had since been evacuated because the fire had approached the munitions vault used for avalanche control.
Yikes.
I called Sully as soon as I got back into cell range and posted something on Twitter knowing people were concerned with Blue’s well-being. The response was overwhelming. While it’s easy to get cynical over the safety of a 20-year-old parrot at a time of widespread destruction and loss, I think people were eager for any shred of positive news.
Happy to help provide some.
This story was originally published September 10, 2020 at 12:17 PM with the headline "Surveying the Creek Fire’s destruction — and how I rescued a parrot from China Peak."
