We have been impacted by the Caldor fire. We have been evacuated. We are okay. The animals are okay. The ranch is still standing. We are hoping to go home in a few days. We are fortunate.
It started August 17 when Brett went out to do chores and immediately called me to come look, quick. This fire column was way too close for comfort.
The fire started about 10 miles from us and we thought we were safe. But, we were wrong. The fire took off and soon we found ourselves in an evacuation warning zone. We stayed at home for about a week. During that time, we reviewed our evacuation plan for the animals and packed out “go” bags: three days worth of clothes, passports, dog food, medications, etc. The smoke was thick and ash coated everything. There were a few days where we couldn’t see 50 feet. We kept the dogs inside with us and ran the a/c so the inside air would recirculate through filters. It helped. We also evacuated the horses. We knew that it would be time consuming to move all of them, with multiple trips since there are more horses than there is space in the trailer. We took the horses to a place about 45 minutes away where they settled into a huge shady pasture. Other than Lucy kicking Flash which resulted in a huge hematoma and blood, but no internal injuries, it all went smoothly. But, we were beat when we finished. The traffic was horrible with people evacuating from homes up the road from us, so it took much longer to do than we anticipated.
In addition to the smoke, there was a constant hum and chatter from the water tankers and helicopters flying overhead. A retardant dipping station was set up at the end of our street. The planes got bigger and started flying lower, just skimming the trees. I’ve seen my share of small crop dusters dipping low like dragonflies over fields of crops. This was different — HUGE planes, commercial aircraft sized planes, were flying low and banking over the ranch. We were sitting on the porch watching them a week ago when the phone rang and we got the order we were dreading — get out now. Mandatory. We threw the dogs and our go bags into the car, I texted my contact for possible housing, and we headed to her house. We left the chickens, the donkeys, the goats and the barn cat. The donkeys and goats were in their large, dirt pastures. I parked my car in the middle of the arena. After being in crisis auto-pilot mode while loading the vehicles and leaving, I found myself fighting back tears as I drove with our bags and Brett following me in the truck with the dogs. When we got to our destination, I pretty much collapsed in his arms. I was scared.
A fellow Master Gardener offered to let us stay in her beautiful granny flat. There is a large attached, fenced area where the dogs can run. The dogs were very anxious and clingy the first few days but are doing fine now. I called Animal Services the morning after we evacuated and asked them to do a welfare check on the animals left behind. The went out and were able to evacuate the donkeys and goats to the large animal evacuation center at the fairgrounds. Initially the goats and donkeys were together which was fine until feeding time. Then Tuffy took a big bite out of Bear. Fortunately, UC Davis has vets rounding at the evacuation sites. The vet working that night loaded Bear into her car and took him to UC Davis where he was stitched up. The donkeys and goats were separated. They are in a building with pens that house horses, donkeys, goats and pigs. The goats have pigs next door and they were scared of the snorting snouts poking between and under the rails separating them. They are used to it now. Bear is doing well should be returned to his herd today or tomorrow.
The fire is raging towards Lake Tahoe and most of the west side, where we are, is under control. There is one area, deep in a steep canyon, that is still problematic but they are optimistic they will get it under control in the next few days. That area is, of course, very close to the ranch so we can’t go home until they finish up there.
But the good news is we are safe. Our animals are safe. The ranch is safe. There are close to 600 homes that have been lost so far in this fire. We know we are fortunate. The generosity of the community has been overwhelming. In the midst of all this chaos, we feel blessed.
