Residents Near Pilot Fire Grateful for Firefighters

San Bernardino County, CA The Pilot Fire burned hot, spread fast and grew quickly. "Our initial report from the first unit on scene was not one or two acres it was 20 to 25," says John Miller with the San Bernardino National Forest adding that explosive wildfires are becoming the norm, "Last couple of years we are seeing fire behavior that’s become extremely dangerous, we’re seeing rates of spread that we haven’t seen in years past." The fire has scorched nearly 8,000 acres in the rugged San Bernardino Mountains and at one point threatened more than 5,000 homes. "Amazingly enough for the size of this fire we have been able to save every structure," says Miller. And for that people who live in remote South Hesperia, who came close to losing everything, say they’re grateful. "Phew, you know done, maybe, there’s still hot spots up there, but yeah firefighters did such an excellent job," says Lindsey Moore. "I left for a little while when the fire got intense and I was afraid behind my house would all be burned they did a great job," says Louie Rowley. "I would have called them heroes before that but today definitely solidified it," says Tom Flury adding that three generations of family have homes on their property so the losses could have been devastating for his parents and grandparents. Mark Phister, whose home is now tinged pink from the fire retardant dropped from fire tankers, says the fire got so close to his home he could feel the heat. He says he never doubted the firefighters and they came through by saving his home, "The firemen did a heck of a job there … thank you, thank you very much," says Mark Phister. UPDATE 8/11: The fire is currently 7,899 acres with 70% containment.