This Kennewick man was surrounded by a raging fire. He realized no one was coming to save him

For 20 minutes on Saturday, a Kennewick man fought to stay alive with smoke and flames bearing down on him.

Mauro Lara has taken care of a historic home on a south Kennewick hill for 13 years — first for Johanna Austin Colby’s family and then for Lorrie and Bruce Ratchford.

Lara had just finished working in the garden Saturday afternoon and walked inside his small caretaker home, when he noticed the color of the sunlight change, he said Thursday.

By the time he got outside, flames already were engulfing the property — a large parcel with two houses, a caretaker home, horse stables and other smaller buildings.

Days later, he’s still haunted by the roaring sound — and about why emergency crews didn’t come for him.

Caught off guard and unprepared by the wind-driven brush fire, Lara raced to find water to douse his clothes, then wrapped a damp bandana around his face.

He then stood in the middle of the large gravel parking lot and tried to avoid the intense heat and flames dancing around him.

The heat was igniting plants without fire even touching them, he said.

When one part of the parking lot got hot, Lara ran to another area of the lot.

The smoke grew so thick he finally climbed into his Chevy Suburban for cover. The SUV saved him from suffocating in the middle of the inferno, he said in Spanish.

A friend who lived nearby on 45th Avenue called his cellphone about 3:30 p.m. to see if he was safe.

When he told her he was trapped, she said she would call 911 because he doesn’t speak English well, Lara recounted.

He was still in the parking lot of the house 10 minutes later when she called back. Still, no one had come to help.

Another friend at the end of the Ratchfords’ long driveway, was also trying to tell a police officer he was trapped by the fire.

Finally, the flames had burned enough of the sage that Lara drove slowly through the smoke, down a dirt path to safety.

In the end, the Bofer Canyon Fire that swept into the south Kennewick neighborhoods of Inspiration Estates and Canyon Lakes and on toward Finley burned 5,000 acres and destroyed five houses — including the historic house and the Ratchfords’ home — and damaged three others.

A horse and mule that died in the fire were out in a field and couldn’t be reached in time, Lara said.

Lara’s small caretaker home was left standing, making it the only part of the original Austin home moved up the hill after the flood of 1948 to survive the blaze.

But without power and water at the house, Lara now is living with a friend in Pasco.

Thursday, Evelyn Lusignan, Kennewick’s public relations and government affairs director, said while there were calls about people being stuck on the road, firefighters on the scene did not hear reports of anyone being trapped on that property.

And Richland officials said no one was available Thursday to check immediately on what happened with the 911 call.

She said they want to hear from Lara, and extended an invitation to sit down to talk with him.

Lara said he wanted to do that and hopes his story helps fire crews and police in future disasters.

“This was a huge fire,” he said. “It could have been someone else (who was trapped).”