Editor’s note: This is the sixth in a holiday series called Everyday Heroes, which recognizes those in the community who do good things out of the spotlight. Each was nominated to be recognized. The series continues Sunday with Pete Wheeler. Featured Monday was Trevor Allen; Tuesday was Burtis Williams; Wednesday was Ritchie Rud; Thursday was Terry St. Pierre; Friday was Terry St. Pierre.
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Ricky Bishop, an “Everyday Hero” in 2002, said he was focused on saving lives serving in dual roles – as sheriff and rural volunteer fire chief – when he ordered an evacuation on the first day of the Mesquite Heat Fire between View and Coronado’s Camp.
Pearl Merritt’s home on Hidden Valley Drive was among 10 that burned in that area May 17. Merritt, who nominated Bishop as an “Everyday Hero,” said she is grateful she got out alive.
“Five minutes after we were evacuated, the wildfire consumed the entire valley burning down several homes and buildings in the pathway,” she wrote. “We would have all died in the fire if he had not given the order.”
Bishop, who is View’s fire chief, was named the Melvin Martin First Responder of the Year in September by Kiwanis Club of Abilene for his leadership efforts with the same fire.
Bishop said the first call of the wildfire was received just before 4 p.m. May 17.
The evacuation order was made just after 6 p.m. and five deputies began jumping fences and knocking on doors. A half-hour later, the fire arrived at Hidden Valley.
“We are so grateful he saved our lives and countless other lives,” Merritt wrote.
Merritt said Bishop’s home was also in danger of burning.
The fire had burned 1,500 acres as of 3:30 p.m. May 18, Bishop said. Then a wind gust measured at 50 mph came through, allowing the fire to grow to about 11,000 acres over the next three to four hours.
The fire’s acceleration put a lot more houses, including Bishop’s near U.S. Highway 277, in jeopardy.
For two days, Craig Griffis, Bishop’s chief deputy, rode in the front seat of Bishop’s sheriff’s pickup as Bishop drove all over the area, keeping a watchful eye on the smoky landscape.
Griffis said Bishop’s daughter was in the back seat May 18 and she took notes on decisions being made regarding firefighting efforts so officials would have an accurate record.
The men continued to get frequent updates from firefighters or law enforcement either on cellphones or portable radios on May 18 and the situation seemed stable until about 8 p.m., Griffis said.
Although the wind speed had decreased, firefighters still were busy. The mood in the pickup was tense until Griffis received unexpected news.
With the phone’s volume louder than usual, Griffis heard from deputies that several houses, including the sheriff’s, were in immediate danger.
Bishop said his property, earlier in the day, had become the least of his concerns because “I wrote my house off,” in his mind. If his family was able to get in and grab a few things and evacuate the horses before the situation deteriorated, he would be happy.
“We just didn’t know what was going to happen,” Bishop said. “I was trying to coordinate resources to protect as many houses and pieces of property as we could.”
When Bishop’s daughter heard what deputies told Griffis, the mood changed.
“Dad, what about our house?” the adult-age daughter asked in a childlike voice, Griffis recalled.
After about 10 minutes during which not a word was spoken by the pickup’s three occupants, Griffis decided to tell a fib to convince Bishop that he should head home. He told Bishop that they needed to check on two deputies because he believed they might get trapped on the dead-end road where Bishop’s house is located.
Bishop briefly thought about what Griffis said and agreed to drive the five miles to his house.
Griffis said Bishop parked the pickup on a neighbor’s property to the west of his house because he didn’t want to block the road fire vehicles were on.
Bishop got his firefighting gear from the rear of the pickup, put it on and walked about 20 feet in front of the pickup before turning around.
He then yelled to his daughter “Do not get out of that truck!” Griffis recalled.
Griffis said he didn’t know what to do at that point because he didn’t have any firefighting gear to wear should he need to rescue Bishop because hot embers were falling on the property.
He then asked the two deputies, who really were on the scene, to take Bishop’s daughter back to her mother who was working in the fire command center at the precinct barn.
“My fear was that she was going to watch her house burn down or her father get hurt trying to save it,” Griffis said.
Bishop’s house wasn’t damaged.