By David Rolland
As flames shot up in all directions, firefighters with lots of guts and a spot of luck saved about a dozen homes Tuesday in the chaotic upper reaches of the Paradise Ranch Estates subdivision.

Crews from all over the North Bay told The Light that Inverness Ridge looked like a battlefield.

ÒIt was like a war zone,Ó said Robin Noel, a state Department of Forestry firefighter while taking time out from brushing his teeth Wednesday morning. ÒYou didnÕt know where the flames were going next.Ó

Noel, who is stationed in Petaluma, and his crew were among those who saved a house at 390 DrakeÕs View Dr. ÒWe decided to take this house,Ó he said, noting the almost arbitrary process of choosing which house to defend.

ÒA propane tank went off next door and there were a lot of flames,Ó Noel said. ÒWe had to take off. When we came back this morning, [the house] was just charred on one side. ItÕs unbelievable.Ó

All night, overmatched firefighters, often unable to breath in the oppressive smoke, protected homes despite the constant explosions of propane tanks.

Late in the evening, a crew of volunteers from Bolinas led by Chief Kevin Hicks were retreating down DrakeÕs View Drive from an oncoming blaze.

She told The Light that when she walked up the long and winding road Wednesday morning, she could barely see through the smoke, and she assumed her house was gone.

However, she soon learned that the Bolinas crew had taken a stand at her house and battled flames from her rooftop. Most of the neighborhood above her house had been destroyed.

Volunteers from filmmaker George LucasÕ Skywalker Ranch and a crew from Tiburon managed to fend off raging fire at 20 Elizabeth Pl. How did they do it? ÒI have no idea. We got lucky,Ó said Capt. Steve White.

ÒItÕs really hard to believe,Ó Wolohan said. ÒIt sounds like it was pretty intense over night.Ó

Marinwood firefighter John Bagala credited Wolohan with smart landscaping, which included setbacks from trees in excess of 30 feet.

ÒThings got pretty bad at the end,Ó Bagala said. ÒWe ran out of water and the road got cut off. We couldnÕt go anywhere if we needed to.Ó

He said his crew eventually was forced to scoop water from a nearby drain puddle with a bucket and toss it on the flames. ÒIt was pretty silly,Ó he said. ÒIt was all we could do, though.Ó

Further down the street, more heroics took place at Ron BayloÕs house at 331 DrakeÕs View Dr., where another crew from Tiburon successfully staved off the flames.

ÒWe made the stand at 331 basically because we were forced to,Ó said Capt. Mike Ayers.

He and two of his crew told The Light that they were trapped at BayloÕs house, and decided to fight for it by combating flames from atop the carport.

Firefighter Peter Winkler said thick smoke forced them to take turns lying on the ground to breath air from just above the concrete. He added that when they finally left the area after all other crews, they could not see the curving road in front of them.

ÒIt was surreal,Ó said firefighter Dave Mansir. ÒIt was like Apocolypse Now.Ó

ÒI got to a point a point where the smoke cleared and saw it was still here,Ó he said. ÒIt was amazing. Absolutely amazing.Ó

Baylo went into his house house and found a note from the Tiburon firefighters that read: ÒIn the process of defending your house from the fire we entered a drank some cokes and ate some crackers. Thank you.Ó

Baylo said he was going to take every member of the Tiburon squad to dinner.