My husband and I survived this fire thanks to Wayne, who works for Sonoma County Sheriff, who pounded on our door to alert us to evacuate immediately. Wayne (alias name for the book) didn’t get an answer because we were frightened by a pounding on our door at 1:15 a.m. Thank God he returned to knock again. Bless his heart. Thank God for him and all members of Pointe Patrol to sacrificed so much of their time and energy. We were living in a hotel miles away, homeless, as our home was one of the three on Viewpointe Circle that burned to the ground. Unbeknownst to us, these brave folks (and Oscar the Doberman ) were fighting to save the surrounding neighborhoods. Earik writes beautifully and since we lived just five doors away, I can tell you his description of everything is so vivid I felt like I was there again reliving that night of terror. My only regret is not having met many of these fine neighbors who I can say in retrospect would’ve been the best people in the world to say were our friends. The book is a great read. This is my chance to say I’m proud of you all. Job well done. Wish we were still neighbors!!! I’m glad you all became a family through the experience. John and Linda Overn

I’m a Santa Rosa resident; and this story truly tells what it was like in the firestorm of Oct 2017. It was the most scariest few weeks of everyone’s life living in this area. I and all of the community felt the pain for the many families that lost their homes and even more saddened by the slow rebuilding process. Months passed and I wouldn’t even venture into the neighborhoods after the fire out of respect of the individuals who lost everything. When I saw this book I had to read it. Amazing heroes each and every one of the Pointe Patrol. I found myself in tears a few times while reading from the shear excitement of their accomplishments, and grief from the fire’s fury. Great Job Earik Beann. I’ll wave at you in Santa Rosa. Good job writing!

This is a great story of bravery mixed with heroes, fun and some lightheartedness in a life-threatening situation. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book; it recounts the good, bad and ugly of the people and circumstances involved. One can only imagine how you will respond in this type of situation and not everyone acts similarly, especially Oscar.

In my honest opinion, this wasn’t the best written book that have read—but it was an amazing true story that everyone should read! This story only tells a small part of the devastation that occurred with the Tubbs Fire there and around Santa Rosa. But their story demonstrates the best in people. These people are true heroes. I wish him and all the people there in Santa Rosa all the best in the restoration efforts.

An extraordinary and vivid account of the firestorm devastating Northern California in 2017. His prose uncovers the tragedy as Eraik and an unlikely band of people saved a large area from even more fire damage.. Working too often to douse flames with their bare hands.
When finishing this heartfelt and well written book, I was stunned by the courage and commitment of this hardy band of heroes. Thank you Erarik for recounting the human connection coupled with so many heroic actions.

I live just down the hill from the author. We too evacuated for about three weeks during the fires. Reading this book reminded me so much of that October night and the terror of driving through floating embers and fallen tree branches with our terrified cats. Later, I was privileged to volunteer with the “massive cat trapping brigade” and maintained feeding stations for months on several streets around Viewpointe. This book brought back some memories of those few weeks in October of 2017 that changed so many lives. I agree with Mr. Beann though that no disrespect to those who lost homes or sadly their lives, it was also a beautiful time that showed us how wonderful and kind complete strangers, neighbors and our community could be when drawn together. We are forever #SononaStrong and #SantaRosaStrong. Thank you for giving others a small glimpse of our wonderful community and folks like yourself and your neighbors.

This book offers a true glimpse into what it was like during those harrowing days of the huge fires we had in Northern CA in 2017. I live an hour or so north of Santa Rosa and we were dealing with the Mendocino Complex fires as Earik and his neighbors were dealing with the Tubbs fire.

It’s a great story of how a neighborhood becomes just that, a true neighborhood, looking out for each other and working to keep it strong and safe. Page 203 sums it all up beautifully…but you’ll have to read the book :o)

This is a page turner—especially for those impacted by or interested in—the Napa/Sonoma County Wildfires of 2017. It offers great insight as to the 2 week collective experience of a small brave neighborhood under the harshest of conditions.

[The] author will be donating the proceeds to assist fire survivors and I think he should be recognized for his generosity.

Excellent info for Californians and the western states that have high incidents of fires. How these people handled their situation is unique but much can be learned from it. Not everyone in a neighborhood is able to go back in to their home during an evacuation and protect the homes. These capable neighbors figured what was best for them and their hood.

I would suggest this book to all who are concerned or people that are living in or near a potential fire area.

I appreciated the author’s own journey as he comes out of his introvert nature to be part of a tight group with a strong purpose. The fire, although certainly the central antagonist in the story, intermittently popping up out of smoldering ruins, was a backdrop to the group dynamics which were filled with heart (bravery and compassion) and humor.

I expected this to be a weakly written book, but I wanted to read it since it was about the city I grew up in. I was pleasantly proved wrong as the writing is quite good. It also told a story about fire survivors that I don’t believe has been covered in depth anywhere else. The photo quality is poor, maybe that will be corrected in future editions. Would be nice if an update on how the folks and neighborhood covered in the book were also added in future editions.

We were involved in the Santa Barbara fire where more than 450 homes burned around ours overnight. A concrete roof (a then recent ordinance) had saved our enclave except for the developer’s home built before said ordinance. This author’s experience is similar to ours except for underground utility lines, we maintained access to all utilities. The experience is certainly a life changing one, in many ways.

I live in Santa Rosa, very near to another neighborhood that is to one that largely burned, adjacent to Coffee Park. I had to get this book when I heard of it, from the local paper; I also appreciated that Amazon gives it a “look inside”…. I just read all the reviews on Amazon and agree with most of what is written. I disagree with the ones that didn’t like his segues; I learned some things!!! I am lending this book to a few people, one of which lost her house in the fire…I thought the book was extremely well written, so I wasn’t surprised when I saw he has written other books, too. For those that experienced the Tubbs and other destructive fires, and for those who are simply curious, I totally recommend this book!!

Having a first hand account of being in the fire was so moving. The thread off texts must have helped the author remember a chaotic series of occurrences. Living in the area, I was not aware of the continued looting. I am proud to have such great people in our town.

Great story. Have driven through that area before and after the fire. Very brave people! And dog! Book is well written.with love, humor, and bravery!