Reporters' notebook: Linehan fire

The following are quotes collected during three days covering the Linehan fire:

"I told the firefighters, 'You guys are lifesavers. You couldn't have done anything more." - Darryl Atchison of Gardnerville. Atchison drove to Mound House as soon as he heard his grandparents were being evacuated from Feldspar Drive on Monday. When the family returned, they saw that fire crews had stopped the flames five feet from his grandparents' home.

"If you stand right here, you can practically see the trees explode!" - J.D. Simeroth, 10, of Mound House. On Monday, J.D. evacuated with his family to the parking lot of the Mound House General Store. He jumped up on the back of a pickup to show a visitor the fire on the ridge.

"Things have turned real ugly in the last 10 minutes. These people should be evacuating." - Retired firefighter Alan Gardner of Carson City who drove in to Mound House on Monday afternoon and was watching the fire on the ridge. Within an hour the fire had made it's way across a field, causing residents to flee the neighborhood.

"This thing has changed directions twice now. We've had fires out here before, but nothing like this." - Rob Brehm, Mound House homeowner, who was spraying down his fence until he had to get in his car to escape.

"We're down to a medical helicopter and a single-engine plane. It's spreading. It's going pretty good." - Radio traffic Monday just as the fire reached homes in Mound House.

"They always talk about defensible space, and the inspector comes out to my place and tells me every summer that I have nothing to worry about. He says I'll be fine, and that if this area starts to burn I'll definitely get firefighters because I'm the only business out here. Well, now I'm going to get that defensible space." - Jeff Kyle, owner of Added Storage off Highway 50 East, said while gazing at blackened hills surrounding his business after Monday's fire. The fire came right up to his property line and even scorched the plastic on his fence.