Tehachapi News

Fireworks and encounters with nature

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Tehachapi’s fireworks show on the Fourth of July didn’t end when the fireworks did — a grass fire ignited by pyrotechnic embers burned on the east end of Tehachapi Airport property around the runways. The large but confined blaze illuminated billowing smoke and created an orangish glow for the entertainment of those driving home after the show. No damage or property loss was reported by the Kern County Fire Department.

Someone watching nearby our little group who was new to Tehachapi’s annual fireworks display asked me, “Has this ever happened before?”

“Usually,” was my honest answer, since at least small spot fires are a regular occurrence. Because fire department personnel are always present and involved in putting on the firework show, it’s not a cause for alarm, they simply extinguish the blaze or control it and let it die down on its own.

Back in the days when the fireworks were launched from the dirt area of Imhoff Field at the old Jacobsen Junior High, dried foxtails and wild mustard stalks were often ignited around the field and the Coy Burnett football stadium.

The fireworks were moved to Capitol Hills for a couple of years, and the proximity to the expansive grasslands of the Loop Ranch made fire a more serious threat. And in fact, there was one large and somewhat threatening fire that was one factor in the decision to move over to the more controllable area surrounding the Tehachapi Rodeo Grounds.

I join the substantial group of Tehachapi residents mourning the loss of assistant city manager and airport manager Dave Zweigle. He was an upbeat and charming man who always made a positive impression on me and was very nice to my little girl Kiya, a two-year-old who loves watching planes and is such a frequent visitor to the airport that she calls the old Vietnam-era Huey helicopter on display at Pilot’s Park “Ki-ki’s heli-pop.”

Not too long ago we were driving very slowly at the airport with the windows down so Kiya could admire the out-of-town planes temporarily stored in the transient tie-down area. An older visitor called out, “I’m looking for the airport manager, do you know if he’s around?”

I responded, “Yeah, I just saw him a few minutes ago. Look for a very nice-looking man with a very genuine smile.”

“Thanks, that shouldn’t be too hard,” was his reply.

I saw the stranger again later as Kiya and I were leaving Pilot’s Park.

“I found him, he matched your description perfectly,” the visitor said to me cheerfully as we drove away.

That was the Dave Zweigle that I knew. His grieving family has much to be proud of and to cherish about this respected and respectful member of our community.

Bill and Karen Fisher found a Red-tailed Hawk with an injured wing on Highline Road this week and came by to see if I could help. We caught it and the next day on the drive down to Bakersfield for medical treatment through the Facility for Animal Care and Treatment at Cal State, the bird decided to release itself from the box it was in.

I looked back to see it perched fairly contently on the headrest of the back seat. There is stood for the duration of the trip, and even did me the courtesy of not white-washing any surfaces. Hopefully the bird can be rehabilitated and one day released back in the Tehachapi area.

Other photos from this week include a shot of four pale blue eggs in a house finch nest built inside a left-over Christmas wreath, and a track made by a kingsnake crawling through the dust in the driveway at our place on Cherry Lane.

Have a good week.