Dear Friends of The Pony Express,
I remember the night the Tubbs Fire started. The hallowing winds and the banging of my neighbor on my bedroom window yelling fire, get out. I remember running outside only to see two flaming red fireballs riding high on both sides of the ridge behind our ranch. The events that followed were horrific and devastating. Our ranch was spared but many others would find themselves with no home to go home to. It was heartbreaking to see and harder to hear the stories of so many homes gone with only a fireplace and foundation amid the ash filled rubble. Little did I know that one day, someday that would be me coming home to my house now gone, up in smoke.
I spent the weekend of the 27th doing what I normally do this time of year. Our angel now in heaven, retired SR firefighter Brian Elliott had trained me well during the Tubbs Fire. It was Brian who designed our fire plan that we hoped we would never need. Keep our property mowed and disked so there was little to no vegetation to burn. And so, I did. Keep water and feed in our sand arena, our horse’s safe place. And so, I did. Do not evacuate as in the event of another Tubbs fire, our ranch was the safest place for our horses. And so, I did not. Little did we know that Mother Nature had another plan.
On that fate filled night, the Glass Fire came fast and furious. One minute I was enjoying a glass of wine and watering my beloved rose garden, the next I was fielding phone calls from friends and family saying we were in a mandatory evacuation zone. How could that be? The fire was in Napa. And then it was not. It was high up on our ridge and moving fast in our direction. Only on this night, it was not to the left or right of us as it had been in the past. Tonight, it would be directly behind us.
Trying to stay calm I followed our fire plan, opening gates, removing fly masks, and making sure our arena was stocked with an ample supply of feed and water. Traffic on Highway 12 quickly went from quiet to chaos and was soon locked up in both directions. As I huddled with my horses I couldn't leave without having one last fire talk with my four legged family. Stay safe, stay together I said to Cooper and Seven, the Dominant and Leader in our herd. They lowered their heads and touched noses confirming that my thoughts were their thoughts. One last horse hug and it was time to go but my dog, Frankie was missing. In all the commotion, he was no where to be found.
I was no longer calm. I could not leave without Frankie. In a panic, I searched high and low in the dark with a flashlight until I found him hiding in our creek. Now too late to grab anything. The Glass Fire had crested our ridge and was blazing its way down our hillside blowing up propane tanks and all else in its path. I remember my last walk through my house that had been my home, and home to my kids and so many others for over thirty years. Looking at pictures, do I take them? There is too many, no time. Clothes, there is too many, no time. Important papers did not seem so important, so they, too were left behind. We had evacuated before. We had come back. I could only hope we would come back again. With my dog safely in tow, we merged onto our highway and into a flurry of folks in flight from the fire that was fast approaching. In my haste I realized I had left without my purse, but there was no turning back now.
I spent the night praying for our horses and our home. My prayers were answered early Monday morning when Sahar Bartlett with Sonoma CART answered the phone and said, we are at your ranch. I heard a radio call in the background and a sheriff’s voice saying we have 12 horses that need to be evacuated. That was our herd, they had survived. The rest is history.
We are beyond devastated at the loss of our ranch, but eternally grateful that our horses survived. We are deeply indebted to the efforts of all who came to our rescue. Sonoma CART, Sonoma County sheriffs, firefighters, and first responders, Michael Leras, John and Jack Ziegler, Chris Smith, Western Farm, Garton Tractor, the ECA, Sonoma County Farm Bureau, Heritage Salvage, Friedman Brothers, my amazing friends and family along with our dedicated volunteers and a much appreciated outpouring of support from all those near and far who have reached out to pick us up and out of the ashes, and help carry us into a new dawn. We will be back, but first we need our horses back. Please visit our Go Fund Me and watch our new video below to see how you can help us bring our horses home. Thank you!
