When the wildfire started on top of Atlas Peak in Napa, several residents found themselves in a harrowing situation — the flames were getting closer, but downed trees and power lines blocked the road and made it impossible for them to escape.
That’s when an angel in the form of a Super Huey helicopter came to the rescue. Cal Fire Capt. James Robbins and his crew, in their 1970s-era helicopter — a veteran of the Vietnam War — swooped in last Monday morning and landed nearby. They hiked up to the homes in the 5000 block of Atlas Peak Road, where the distress call originated, and found a husband and wife and their two dogs. Then they used the couple’s car to press on, checking for more evacuees. That’s when they found three more people desperate to get out — an elderly couple and a younger woman.