MODESTO, Calif. — A group of disc golfers became "impromptu heroes" after stopping a fire that city officials said was rapidly spreading near a Modesto park..
According to the City of Modesto Parks, Recreation, & Neighborhoods Facebook page, the group spotted the fire around 8 p.m. Sunday while they were finishing a round of disc golf at East La Loma Park. Officials said the fire was in the brush on the hillside near the new playground at the park.
Shayne Lachene told ABC10 that his friend Allen Yakow was the first person to spot the blaze. Lachene ran over to the fire, noticed the size of it and decided to put it out with help from his friend.
It was around that time that five other Modesto area disc golfers stepped in to help. The group called 911 and also rushed down to the creek, grabbing water to douse the flames. But Lachene said the fire kept growing even after they had used all the water they had on it, so they devised a new strategy to keep the flames in check.
"We all worked together to push the dry weeds into the fire until we had created a fire break all the way around it, allowing the fire to burn up its only fuel and putting itself out by the time (the) fire department got there," Lachene said.
City officials said that the disc golfers' efforts kept much of the riparian area of the park and the neighboring homes across the creek undamaged.
Lachene said that protecting those homes and the disc golf course was part of the reason he sprang into action.
"When you spend enough time at the disc golf course, it becomes like home to all of us golfers," Lachene said.
"It was a team effort that night and we would not have been able to put it out without everyone of the Modesto area disc golfers and others doing what they did to do what was needed to extinguish the fire," he added.
WATCH ALSO:
