Before firefighters arrived on the ground in the community of Talmadge during Thursday's fast-moving Fairmount Fire, palm trees and backyard fences began to burn, and a group of neighbors and strangers gathered in the backyards of the threatened houses and sprayed down the properties with water hoses.
The brothers James and Louie Pendley noticed smoke as they were headed to visit a friend a few miles away. Instead, they drove toward the fire and jumped in to help hose down several backyards as flames started to burn fences and decks.
Fast-moving fire burns dozens of acres in College Area
“I don't know — my brother and I were in the area," Louie said. "We just decided, like, 'We see smoke, we're guys.' We're like, 'Hey, let's just see what's going on.' ”
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They drove up and arrived at a scene of panic.
“Planes and helicopters flying over, but none of the water was coming down on us," James said. "We had to figure it out. That's the bottom line. The fire was just immense. I mean, it was powerful."
The siblings told NBC 7 they spent two hours keeping the flames away from several homes.
“We decided to stay because we saw a lady in a car crying," Louis said. "And we're like, 'You know what? Well, you know, if it was me, I would want somebody to help me out.' ”
Kathy Battisti was one of the neighbors trying to protect the homes along the canyon.
“So we had neighbors just coming out from their houses," Battisti said. "We were grabbing hoses from across the street, we were standing, watching different yards."
As firefighters mopped up Friday and kept an eye out for any possible hot spots. Battisti and other neighbors recognized and appreciated the brothers who had returned to the neighborhood.
"It's like, 'Who are they? Where did these people come from?' " Battisti said. "And just — as I say, it restored my faith in humanity just to know that there's absolute strangers ready to jump in and help where needed."
Another neighbor spotted the brothers from her car.
“These guys — I mean, they did so much,” said the neighbor. "There are so many people that helped."
The houses may still be standing because of a crew of neighbors and strangers using what they had: backyard hoses and back pocket kindness.
"I don’t even want to think about what happened if not," James said. "I mean: We’re really the only ones to fight it. And I’m just really happy that we were able to do something about it as a team."
