Caltrans unveiled a memorial sign Monday and renamed a section of Interstate 5 in honor of Cal Fire Division Chief William “Bill“ Clayton, who served nearly 50 years and was one of the most decorated firefighters in Cal Fire history.
A three-mile stretch of the freeway between La Costa Avenue and Cannon Road will bear Clayton’s name. Fire and Caltrans officials joined family members and guests Monday afternoon for a dedication ceremony at the Batiquitos Lagoon Welcome Center in Carlsbad.
“He was a legend in the fire service,” lifelong friend and retired Cal Fire Battalion Chief Ray Chaney said in a statement announcing Clayton’s death at the age of 77 in 2018.
“You’d be driving up to this giant atomic bomb-looking column of smoke, be a little nervous or have that sense of apprehension, and then you’d hear Bill’s voice on the radio,” Chaney said. “And you got this sense of calm because you knew you had a man of his caliber that was going to be there to support you no matter what circumstance you were going to be involved with.”
Clayton retired after 40 years with Cal Fire in 1998, but he missed the action and soon returned to active duty, staying another 10 years.
Cal Fire officials credit Clayton with leading the effort that saved nearly 200 people trapped in the Valley View casino during the Paradise fire of 2003, one of several deadly wildfires that year.
When Clayton arrived at the casino, flames were lapping at the rear of the building and threatened a 10,000-gallon propane tank. People in the building were panicking. He instructed the arriving fire trucks on a plan of attack, went inside and calmed the patrons, and everyone survived.
Days later crews led by Clayton helped save the historic mountain community of Julian from the rapidly advancing Cedar fire, one of the largest and most destructive forest fires in California history.
Clayton retired from Cal Fire again in 2008, but continued as a consultant and taught the techniques of wild-land firefighting around the globe.
He was a multiple winner of the Medal of Valor, the highest award given to firefighters in the state.
Former City of San Diego Fire Chief Brian Fennessy said in 2018 that Clayton was “a true icon” whose knowledge of wild-land fires in San Diego County was unprecedented.
