SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. — On Tuesday night, several hundred people gathered to say thank you, share stories and embrace the firefighters who worked tirelessly to save the city of South Lake Tahoe.
It was an unforgettable sign of support for firefighters in South Lake Tahoe that started small. People hung signs as they gathered at an intersection near base camp at Heavenly Resort to say "thank you."
It was simple heartfelt message to the fire crews who worked countless days and nights to battle walls of flames on the Caldor Fire's edge and to protect their homes from the wildfire.
"The thing that got me and made me cry every time, of all the states they've been through, they've never seen the outpouring of support like this. They saved our homes and businesses," said Deanna Heinrickson.
Heinrickson, Angie Mizgireva and Lisa Calderon have been doing this the past several nights, but they haven't been alone. They've been joined by other South Lake Tahoe residents to show their support.
"It doubled and doubled until last night when there were at least 500 people," Heinrickson said.
The gratitude continued into the night as more firefighters passed through.
"The whole town just showed up and how do you prevent the whole town from showing up to say thank you for saving our house?" she said.
Nothing stopped the hundreds of people from telling their heroes thank you after saving their city, homes and businesses from the Caldor Fire.
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