Perhaps the greatest life-saving skill Division Chief Bill Clayton developed during his 45-year career with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection was the ability to be cool under pressure.

That skill was put to the ultimate test when Clayton and another firefighter were trapped inside their vehicle as flames from the Cedar fire surrounded them last month.

"I realized we had to make a move or the car was going to catch fire," he said. "If you panic, you die. People who panic die. All my options were of living, not dying."

Clayton said they waited a few seconds, and when an air pocket cleared enough smoke to expose the road, they seized the opportunity and were able drive their car to safety.

Clayton's brush with death is one of many stories he recalled a week after the historic blaze, during which he served as one of two CDF incident commanders supervising the fire fight. Clayton's close friend, CDF Division Chief John Hawkins, the other Cedar fire commander, also shared his story.

The men, who have a combined 85 years' experience, directed a contingent of 2,120 firefighters from across California and the West to battle the largest blaze in California's history. It was a fire that incorporated all the elements firefighters fear most --- strong winds, dead trees, thick scrubland and rough terrain.

When it was over, the flames had burned 280,293 acres, destroyed 2,232 homes and killed 14 people, including a firefighter.

"It was like the movie 'The Perfect Storm'," Clayton said. "You couldn't get any worse than that."

The firestorm tested the will and resolve of the two veteran fire commanders, but in the end, they were able to stop the inferno and save an estimated 30,000 homes.

"I think we were successful," Hawkins said. "And I'm proud of our ability to lead the firefighters down that road to success."

Fire generals

Their mission to save the county began on Monday, Oct. 27. Clayton was reassigned to the Cedar fire after he spent two days leading firefighters on the nearby Paradise fire, which burned 56,700 acres, destroyed 174 homes and killed two people.

Hawkins was selected by CDF administrators in Sacramento to lead a unified command of chiefs from the U.S. Forest Service, Poway, Heartland and San Diego fire departments on the Cedar blaze.

Clayton, whose career includes fighting 200 major fires, would be the field general, directing firefighters on the frontlines. Hawkins would be the administrative general, giving orders from central command at Gillespie Field in El Cajon, where a makeshift tent city was erected.

Their goals were simple: protect lives and property, and establish a perimeter line around the blaze to keep it from advancing.

"We looked at which communities were threatened and where to put resources," Hawkins said. "I made strategic decisions."

By Oct. 27, the fire's western front had already destroyed 359 homes in the suburban neighborhoods of Scripps Ranch and Tierrasanta in the city of San Diego. And its most active front, the eastern portion, was rapidly moving toward Julian and Descanso.

Hawkins decided to send his close friend Clayton to the Julian and Lake Cuyamaca area, into the heart of the fire.

"We put our best horses in the toughest places," he said. "And Clayton was our best horse."

Lake defense

On Tuesday morning, Oct. 28, Clayton, an astute, gray-haired commander, arrived in the Lake Cuyamaca area where he could see billowing smoke and glowing flames rapidly advancing toward the small resort community.

Mountain peaks that surrounded the lake resembled active volcanoes, and it was just a matter of time before everything that stood in the fire's path -- campgrounds, houses and stores -- would become a memory.

The fire had created its own weather system of intense winds, fire tornados and lighting.

"We had firestorm conditions," he said. "The wind at that time was blowing at 50 to 60 mph. It (the fire) was moving at several thousand acres per hour."

Knowing this, Clayton ordered dozens of fire engines to take defensive positions along Highway 79 and Engineer's Road, and in front of houses to fight the inferno. But their efforts were bittersweet.

The exhausted firefighters were able to save 30 homes that morning, but the blaze won, destroying 114.

Later that day, as the blaze moved across Highway 79, Clayton went to downtown Julian to coordinate the defense of that historic gold-mining town and its suburbs of Harrison Park, Pine Hills, Wynola and Kentwood in the Pines.

Some of those communities were in the process of recovering from last year's Pines fire.

By the end of the day, the fire had destroyed homes in Harrison Park and Pine Hills.

Triumph and tragedy

While Clayton was manning the front lines, Hawkins was busy coordinating fire strategy, meeting with county leaders and updating the media.

As the top administrator, Hawkins told his field commanders which communities to protect, but he allowed them to decide how they were going to do it.

His days included meetings with other fire commanders, and representatives from the Red Cross, Salvation Army and San Diego Gas & Electric. He frequently gave live news conferences and scurried around town to attend other news briefings.

It was at a news briefing on Wednesday, Oct. 29, that he announced the death of 38-year-old Steven Rucker, a veteran Novato firefighter killed that afternoon while battling the blaze near Julian.

Back on the fire lines, Clayton had the difficult task of securing the scene where Rucker died and meeting with Novato's fire chief.

"It hit me very hard. I was very angry that a firefighter died," Clayton said. "I took my helmet and threw it on the ground."

But all was not lost that day.

Julian's historic downtown, a popular tourist destination, was saved by the myriad firefighters who fought the flames nonstop, sometimes working for more than two days without sleep.

"It makes you feel good," Clayton said. "Not losing Julian kept the firefighters' spirits from getting lower."

From that day on, the Cedar fire weakened as rain and cooler temperatures helped firefighters gain the upper hand, and the blaze was fully contained the following week.

Clayton and Hawkins say they took lot of pride in knowing they helped lead an army of firefighters who won the war against the Cedar blaze.

"I did as good a job on that fire as any fire I've been on," Clayton said. "There were horrendous losses, but with so many fires, I was amazed that so many people and homes were saved."

Contact staff writer Ken Ma (760) 761-4408 or kma@nctimes.com.