In the early morning of August 29 the Pier fire began on Highway 190, the result of a car that burned above the power plant near the Camp Whishon turn off. The fire quick;y grew, driven by thick brush and a large number of dead trees that had died in the past couple of draught years. By September 5 the fire had burned over 20,000 acres. 1300 residents of "the mountain" including Upper Rio Vista, Cow Mountain (Springville), Camp Nelson, Sequoia Crest, Mountain Aire (Rogers Camp), Cedar Slope, Alpine, Doyle Springs, Wishon, and Pierpoint were evacuated.

For many the mountain is their only home. Without the ability to work on the mountain and with the increased costs of staying in alternate housing, these victims of the Pier Fire are in dire need of financial help.