Thursday’s big fire on the Oceanside Pier sparked a lot of memories among thousands of longtime residents in San Diego County.
Word about the fire spread as quickly as the fire itself first did, with black smoke billowing up from the long and iconic pier. There was a lot of texting going and a lot of video clips and pictures on social media.
And as the news spread so did the stories from swimmers, surfers and beachgoers about having been to the pier with many talking about having eaten at Ruby’s Diner.
But what might turn out to be most memorable about the fire will be the way firefighters responded and how they kept a bad fire from destroying the entire pier.
The fire chief told the San Diego Union Tribune it was “an all-hands-on-deck” situation, with 144 firefighters, 30 lifeguards and 32 police officers. At one point, he said, they feared the whole pier could be lost to fire.
And reflecting the feeling of all the residents and visitors to the pier through the years, he added, “The pier is a very special place for us.”
And today, all those first responders are very special to all the people in Oceanside.
SEE PHOTOS AND VIDEOS HERE.
(Photo Getty Images)