Smokey Bear has nothing on Ray Hutchinson and Lynda Armbruster.
Hutchinson, a retired fire captain, and Armbruster, a retired college professor, are two of the 238 volunteers with the Orange County Fire Watch (OCFW) in Southern California. Started in 2006, OCFW volunteers go out to canyons and foothills during dry, windy days when the fire threat is high, to look for smoke, flames, and suspicious activity. Their goal is to stop fires before they get out of control, and on average, there are volunteers on patrol about 20 days a year.
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