CALISTOGA (UNITED STATES) - Kyle Noble was celebrating her 50th birthday in northern California wine country when a wildfire incinerated her home and every memento of her life.
In a reminder of the fickle nature of such blazes, the home of her sister Kelly Stuckey was spared.
"When I walked out of my house, the last thing I did was look at my husband's ashes and say 'Honey, it's up to you to take care of our house," Stuckey told AFP as she and her sister took shelter in an evacuee center in the wine country town of Calistoga.
"There is a 'V' on the map where homes did not burn, and my house is in it."
A chicken coop behind the house burned, but she got word on Monday that the chickens somehow survived and were darting about the back yard of her home in Cobb.
Crews handling calls for help from people had scant time to rescue animals, but they did open coops, corral gates, cages and other enclosures to free creatures, allowing them to escape if they could.
"When it started, they were in life-saving mode and told people not to worry about houses, property or animals," recalled Verla Gomes, who was among the evacuees.
"People were upset about animals."
In a reminder of the fickle nature of such blazes, the home of her sister Kelly Stuckey was spared.
"When I walked out of my house, the last thing I did was look at my husband's ashes and say 'Honey, it's up to you to take care of our house," Stuckey told AFP as she and her sister took shelter in an evacuee center in the wine country town of Calistoga.
"There is a 'V' on the map where homes did not burn, and my house is in it."
A chicken coop behind the house burned, but she got word on Monday that the chickens somehow survived and were darting about the back yard of her home in Cobb.
Crews handling calls for help from people had scant time to rescue animals, but they did open coops, corral gates, cages and other enclosures to free creatures, allowing them to escape if they could.
"When it started, they were in life-saving mode and told people not to worry about houses, property or animals," recalled Verla Gomes, who was among the evacuees.
"People were upset about animals."
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