KITCHEN FIRE IN JOSHUA TREE

Quick thinking by  Sheriff’s deputies and a neighbor saved a Joshua Tree home from being a total loss in a fire Thursday afternoon. About 3 p.m., Joshua Tree firefighters received a call of a kitchen fire in the 60000 block of Granada Road. When firefighters arrived, they found two Sheriff’s Deputies – Phillip Beushlein and Antonio Alcala — and a neighbor using a garden hose to spray the kitchen wall to keep the fire from moving up into the attic. County Fire Captain John Garber said if the deputies and the neighbor hadn’t sprayed water on the wall, the fire would have spread to the attic and the home would have been a total loss. Captain Garber said firefighters also rescued a Chihuahua dog that was hiding under a bed and that did not want to be rescued—biting at the firefighters as they reached for it. Captain Garber said trying to capture the dog was like chasing a greased pig, as the dog darted here and there, trying to avoid the scary-looking firefighters. Garber estimated damage to the kitchen and contents at about $3800. The cause of the fire is under investigation.