Captain’s log from the corner of Hunky Dory and Rinky Dink

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Live Oak Canyon:

Bob Heedt lives on the corner of Hunky Dory and Rinky Dink. He is one of the holdouts in this rustic canyon, which firefighters consider a crucial break point in their campaign against the Santiago fire. The fear is if they don’t stop it here, the blaze could could run up and over into Trabuco Canyon.

“Our goal is to keep it up in the higher country,” said Craig Daugherty, division commander overseeing hotshot crews working the front lines. “We’re still nipping and tucking at it. It’s going to be this way all day.”

“It’s all total defense, no offense,” he added.

Heedt has a sprawling managerie on his large property, a nice house and several outbuildings. Rusted farming equipment and appliances are scattered about. Tall oaks form a canopy over the land; one even grows up through the house, shading a patio. If you squint, it looks like the Ponderosa Ranch from the old “Bonanza” television series.

Heedt said one of the reasons he stayed is the 50-foot sailboat in the yard, that he’s been planning to restore since he bought it in 1976.

“I’m only one here. I won’t see this taken away from me,” he said.

He’s lived on the land for 37 years. He said his wife divorced him because she felt a world away from Los Angeles.

“I’m like a good captain. I’m going down with the ship.”

Heedt is a bit of an adventurer. On his living room wall is marlin. There’s also a quote on the wall from Rudyard Kipling: “If you can fill the unforgiving minute with 60 seconds worth of distance, run.”

“That’s what life is all about,” he said.

-- Mike Anton