Game Warden

Department of Fish and Wildlife

9/15/2014

Special Service Award (Silver)

On September 15, 2014, at 1:30 p.m., a brush fire was ignited on the outskirts of Weed, California by an arsonist. The fire, fanned by 40 mph winds, spread into town where it burned more than 150 homes, the lumber mill, several churches, and other structures in a matter of a few hours. Department of Fish and Wildlife Warden Chad Edwards heard the radio traffic regarding the fire and immediately responded to the area. He started evacuating homes as flames ripped up the hill and into the neighborhood. Warden Edwards immediately began transporting people in the bed of his truck, and flagged down other evacuees with empty seats in their cars to help shuttle people out. Warden Edwards frantically worked to help a family out of their home while the houses next door and down the street were burning. During this time, Warden Edwards suddenly heard a loud roaring sound and looked up in time to see an air tanker flying overhead, dropping a load of retardant. Warden Edwards made it into his patrol truck just in time, as the retardant drop covered his vehicle. Retardant drops hit Warden Edward’s patrol vehicle on two more occasions that afternoon. At one point Warden Edwards noticed an elderly woman on her front porch and he stopped to ask if she needed help. The woman said that she did not have a vehicle, and her family was cut off by the fire and could not get to her. Warden Edwards gathered the woman and her dog, and took them to safety. During the evacuations, Warden Edwards noticed a Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Department patrol car parked in the driveway of a residence in the burning neighborhood. Warden Edwards had dispatch contact the Deputy, who said that his dog was in the house. The Deputy told Warden Edwards that if it looked like the house was going to burn, to do whatever he needed to get his dog out. The house next door was on fire, so Warden Edwards kicked in the door and grabbed the dog to take it to safety. By making trip after trip into the burning neighborhood to evacuate and rescue stranded citizens, Warden Edwards acted with bravery that afternoon that was clearly above and beyond that expected in the line of duty. Amazingly, no lives were lost in the fire, and it is without doubt that Warden Edwards’ actions were a large part of that outcome.