The fires sweeping across Northern California have taken a massive toll. The Los Angeles Times reports that 42 people have died; more than 6000 homes have been destroyed, and a third of the 100,000 people evacuated have yet to return to their homes and survey the damage.

Above, Jason Cammisa tows a BMW 502.

Jim Smith of Sonoma, CA is incredibly lucky. The 84-year-old and his family are safe; his home is undamaged. And thanks to a small army of gearhead volunteers, so is his collection of antique BMWs.

From left to right: Smith’s BMW 2002, 327 Cabriolet, 340, and 502. Jeff Hecox

Smith lives on a seven-acre vineyard. As the fires approached Sonoma, he began evaluating his options. He and his neighbors had already begun hosing down their buildings, to prevent a fire from embers carried by the breeze. But Smith's collection of 18 vintage BMWs, most of them built before World War II, was still parked in a barn on the property.

"I was just gonna take them out and put them in the vineyard," Smith told Road & Track over the phone. "We had a pretty good shot of making it," he said. "Vineyards don't burn very well."

But as the fires drew closer, Smith re-evaluated. "It got to the point where it was just too big of a gamble," he said.

Jeff Hecox

That's where BMW Car Club of America's Satch Carlson and Kelly Kirkland came in. They put out the call to Club members around Northern California to bring trucks, trailers and people to get the collection moved to a safer place. Along with Carlson and Kirkland, BMW mechanic and racer Bill Arnold, restorer Jeff Hecox, Bill Watson and Tony Sharp of Sonoma-based Road Rockets, former R&T editor Jason Cammisa, Mike Oroszi and John DeFalco all showed up to assist.

"I think of the 18 cars, only three or four of them ran and could be driven," Hecox told R&T by phone. The rest had to be coaxed into trailers, their frozen brakes or long-slumbering engines not heeding the sudden wake-up call. By early afternoon, the volunteers had gathered at Smith's to evacuate the cars to a BMW shop near Sonoma Raceway. Earlier this month, the fires threatened to destroy the legendary race track, but that turned into a blessing by Saturday—with nothing left to burn in the vicinity of the track, it was a safe haven away from the fires.

Up front, the 1939 BMW 328 race car from Smith’s collection. Jeff Hecox

Among the cars the team of volunteers moved was Smith's 1939 BMW 328. "That's the most famous race car they ever built," Smith said. "It's a 2.0-liter car, and it won a lot of races up until the '70s. They made about 460 of them."

Cammisa was lucky enough to drive the 328 from Smith's ranch to the warehouse. "It was shockingly good," he told R&T. "I've driven 1960s cars that were not as fast, easy and composed as that 328. It was no-joke fast."

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It all went off without a hitch, and today the LA Times reports that firefighters are gaining ground in containing the fires. Conditions are improving. But on Saturday, the outlook wasn't so clear.

The crew works to get Smith’s 1929 BMW Dixi started. Bill Watson stands watch; Jim Smith and Tony Sharp work under the hood; Bill Arnold mans the crank-starter and Jason Cammisa sits behind the wheel. Jeff Hecox

"We were sitting there loading cars when five firetrucks drove to the end of the street and were staging 400 feet away," Hecox said. "You could hear the aircraft flying by, the helicopters carrying water. When I first got there, you couldn't see the sky. You look at that, it's your worst nightmare happening."

It's just further proof of how the enthusiast community bands together in a time of need.

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