Corralitos Firehouse Will Create 9/11 Homage

An artist is transforming a piece of World Trade Center steel into a polished sculpture that will be placed under a liquid amber tree on the front lawn of the , a modest outpost in rural Watsonville.

The Corralitos 9/11 memorial, to be installed in October, will be a short section of I-beam attached to a concrete base.

"It's not what you'd call terribly impressive; it's the meaning behind it," said Lawrence Erickson, the Cal Fire captain who coordinated the project.

Miya Ando, an internationally known artist raised near Corralitos who now lives in New York City, approached Erickson about creating the 9/11 homage after seeing that tree at the firehouse.

While the Corralitos has little connection to New York City, Erickson said the world of firefighting is an international brotherhood.

"We're a family," said Erickson, who marked his 30th fire season this year.

So Erickson was supportive of Ando's vision.

"It's the next-closest thing to standing on a piece of hallowed ground. ... When this all happened, everyone always said '9/11, Never Forget,'' he said, explaining that the memorial "is our way of saying we won't forget."

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