Wildfires in the cities: Local first responders are working to lessen fire dangers—but there’s only so much they can do

Steve and Heather Richards were cleaning their house in the Peppermint Drive area of the North Valleys on Aug. 22 when Steve saw a huge plume of smoke outside.

It was the Hawk Fire.

When the couple saw the “get set” yellow zone evacuation notice for their neighborhood was in place, they left their home with their cat, Tony, and two dogs, Maxwell and Cayenne. They did not yet know whether their neighborhood would be in the “go now” red zone…