Lifesaving Waters

The pools at Deep Creek offer more than a cool dip on a hot day (“Not Everyone Gets Into Deep Creek’s Pools,” July 20). In August 1999, my son and a friend were camping at the pools when they became trapped by the rapidly burning Willow fire that blazed south through the mountains. Having no escape, they jumped into a pool and, with just their heads above water, managed to breathe through soaked towels as the fire raced past them.

The pictures they took after the ground had cooled enough for them to walk out showed a blackened moonscape with just a narrow band of greenery surrounding the pool that saved them.

Mele Bond

Oak Hills