Our little community came together (in a socially distant way, given the times) in May, to plant two trees in memory of Ray Figueroa and Patrick Jones. Ray and Patrick were firefighters from Porterville, Ca who were both killed in the line of duty battling a library fire in February of this year. They were both friends and colleagues of the Ponderosa Property Owners Association Volunteer Fire Brigade Chief Dave LaPere. Many from our community knew and respected Ray and Patrick…and were deeply saddened by their tragic deaths.
There was a small gathering at the fire brigade building where the trees were planted. Jeff Gletne who is a resident of Ponderosa was able to get seedlings from the “Genesis” Sequoia tree in Mountain Home State Forest for the planting.
We look forward to seeing these trees grow throughout the years, while we remember that Ray and Patrick made the ultimate sacrifice for their community.
