MONO COUNTY, California — Two Mono County Sheriff’s Office deputies were recognized with Lifesaving Award medals after Sheriff Ingrid Braun described their actions during the Pack Fire evacuation response, according to the Mammoth Times.
Featured photo: Mono County Sheriff’s Office courtesy photo via Mammoth Times; ThinBlueNews added headline/source labeling.
The report said Braun presented awards to Sheriff’s Investigator Alex Flores and Deputy Jason Pelichowski during a Mono County Board of Supervisors meeting. Her remarks centered on the Nov. 13 Pack Fire near the McGee Creek Pack Station, where wind pushed the fire toward homes, structures and traffic corridors.
Door-to-door warnings as the fire advanced
According to the Mammoth Times account of Braun’s remarks, Flores was at the Sheriff’s Crowley Substation when the initial call came in and responded quickly, meeting with Long Valley Fire Chief Scott McGuire. Braun said Flores is also a volunteer firefighter and that he and McGuire recognized how dangerous the fast-moving fire had become.
“In addition to being a Mono County deputy, Investigator Flores is also a volunteer firefighter and he and Chief McGuire immediately recognized the life-threatening nature of the fast-moving fire,” Braun said, according to the Mammoth Times.
As flames advanced toward the McGee Creek Trailer Park and the Gregory Lane residential neighborhood, Braun said Flores drove toward the fire, relayed information to dispatch and requested additional units for evacuation, according to the report.
The Mammoth Times reported that Flores went door to door telling residents to evacuate and helped coordinate responding units from multiple agencies so the mandatory evacuation area could be notified.
A disabled semi-truck in heavy smoke
Braun also recognized Pelichowski, who she said was dispatched to assist with evacuation and encountered Highway 395 shut down by fire on both sides and near-zero visibility from smoke, according to the Mammoth Times.
The report said Pelichowski found a disabled semi-truck on the roadway with the driver in panic, got the driver out, brought him to the patrol vehicle and drove him out of the fire area.
“Without Deputy Pelichowski’s bravery and willingness to drive straight into the fire, it’s possible or even likely that the driver of the semi would have succumbed to smoke inhalation within his vehicle, which would have made a tragic incident even worse,” Braun said, according to the Mammoth Times.
ThinBlueNews is limiting the story to the public recognition and evacuation facts reported by the source. The article does not add independent fire-cause claims or private victim details.