Craig Dziedzic and his dog waited to say thank you again to helicopter officers that rescued them from Napa County's Atlas Peak.
But Dziedzic's rescuers perhaps expressed more excitement about meeting someone they helped escape a deadly inferno. "They don't realize how big of a blessing it is for us to meet them," said Dziedzic.
Other first responders saluted CHP officers Pete Gavitte and Whitney Lowe at a forum in San Francisco.
Gavitte piloted the CHP helicopter through the darkness and smoke. Gavitte and Lowe kept returning to Atlas Peak despite turbulent winds jolting their helicopter flight after flight.
"So whenever there's a situation that we are able to help, that's what our first goal is going to be, to step in and make a difference, said Officer Whitney Lowe, a CHP flight officer and paramedic.