Santiago Canyon: Pumping the pool to water the roof

As fire raged along Modjeska Canyon Road in Orange County's canyons, Jim Ducote pumped water from his 40,000-gallon swimming pool. He planned to use the water to spray down his roof and yard.

"If it gets too close, we're out of here," said Ducote, 41, chief financial officer for a construction company and resident of Santiago Canyon Estates.

As he spoke, a plane dropped pink fire retardant on a ridge above his house. The housing tract, much newer than the rustic cabins that dotted the canyons, sits in a horseshoe-shaped canyon.

Ducote, whose wife and three sons had evacuated to nearby Santa Margarita, said he had been keeping an eye on the approaching fire for three days. Nearby, on Santiago Canyon Road, the vegetation has burned away and a fire-gutted car sits abandoned.

He said panic had not set in yet. Eyeing his pool, he said, "We'll empty it if we have to."

Like other residents of the area, Ducote said he preferred canyon life despite the risks:

"I always dreaded it," he said of the prospects of fires. "But, no, I'd never move, because I love these canyons. "

-- Jason Song