Springville students line Highway 190 to say thanks to Pier Fire crews

SPRINGVILLE, Calif. (KFSN) -- As the sun came up over Springville Monday morning, it looked and sounded like a Fourth of July parade. But it was a show of appreciation for all the men and women working to put the Pier Fire out.

Students from Springville School, their parents, and teachers all woke up a little earlier to line up along a small stretch of Highway 190.

They waved and cheered as firefighters made their way to and from the fire.

"I honestly think you're looking at all of Springville," said Gabriela Porter, a Springville mother. "We're not that big of a town, we are a small community but it just goes to show you that there's a lot of heart."

Monday was also the 16th anniversary of September 11th. Porter was in high school at the time, but now she tells her boys about the first responders and firefighters who ran into danger that day and those who do the same on the fire line.

Melissa Swanson is also grateful for their work; her family had to evacuate their home near Balch Park, but it's still standing.

"These are our homes, and this is our town and these are the businesses and everything up here and (the fire) came right down the hill," Swanson said.

Pier Fire Information Officer Erin McKenzie says the surrounding communities have been supportive of their efforts since the start,

but today was special. She says it's a great motivator for firefighters.

"At a time when fatigue is setting in and we have been on this incident for quite a while," McKenzie said. "And it was just really,

really good timing and a really good morale boost."

Fire officials expect mandatory evacuations to be lifted by Friday. The Pier Fire is now 60 percent contained