Nancy Morgan Reed

Home Is Where the Horse Is Nancy Morgan Reed

A couple evacuate from a wildfire with minutes to spare, then her horses escape into thousands of acres of wilderness. With only her little dog, they search for and find them in the river gorge, and has a terrifying experience trying to rescue them by herself. On September 9, 2015 the Butte Fire, near Jackson, California, broke out on a steep wooded hillside. That first day it seemed to be under control. But the next morning with changing winds and temperatures upwards of 105 degrees, and after 5 years of serious drought, the fire whipped out of control. With no warning, sirens were blaring and the local police were telling them to get out NOW! Facing a wall of fire, Morgan and her husband and a few of their animals escaped with their lives. They had to leave the ranch and most of the ranch animals behind in the flames, including 3 prize horses, and their 14 year old deaf dog Max. Within moments the fire swallowed up the road behind them. And burned over 71,000 acres of wild lands, consuming almost a thousand homes, and taking the lives of 2 of their neighbors. And instantly more than a thousand people were homeless, here in rural Calaveras County. Living alone in exile with only a few of her beloved pets, and not knowing the fate of her ranch or her pets there alone for 8 days in the fire zone, is a grueling story. A story every person living in the wilderness should read.