MIRACLE POOCH
Emerges from Calif. fire to greet owner
A heartwarming tale has emerged from the ashes of the deadly California wildfires as a beloved pooch was reunited with her owners days after they were forced to flee their home.
“It was one of the greatest moments of my life,” Jack Weaver said of seeing his family’s 9-yearold Bernese mountain dog, Izzy, again. “She’s such a brave dog.”
Weaver and his family had fled their Santa Rosa home last week — his mom still in her pajamas as a wildfire closed in.
The family couldn’t find Izzy on their vineyard in time to take her with them. Distraught, Weaver and his brother-in-law, Patrick Widen, returned to the scorched property a few days later to survey the damage and try to find her, he said.
Weaver was filled with joy as he spotted the dog bounding toward him with her tail wagging, according to video.
“Izzy’s here! Izzy made it! Hey, baby!” he says in the footage.
Weaver said his mom, Katherine, had been convinced that the dog died in the wine-country wildfires, which have killed at least 40 people, destroyed 200,000 acres of land and displaced tens of thousands of people.
When her son told her the pooch was OK, “She just lost it,” he said. “She went from being devastated about losing her home to the being the happiest person I’ve ever seen.’’
The dog was hungry and dehy- drated but otherwise fine,fi mainly thanks to her thick fur, which likely protected her from the heat, a vet said.
Meanwhile, meteorologists warned Sunday that warm and gusty weather in the region could be a recipe for more trouble as firefighters continued to battle the deadliest wildfires in state history.
There’s no rain forecasted in the Sonoma Valley for days, leaving workers to fight the inferno with no help from Mother Nature, according to the National WWeatherth SService.i
“It’s going to be bone-dry out there overnight,” said forecaster Steve Anderson.
Still, powerful winds that stoked the blazes Saturday were expected to die down by Monday, weather experts said.
Two of the three biggest fires also were more than half contained by Sunday, making it safe enough for law enforcement to begin inspecting some evacuated areas — the first major step in lifting evacuation orders, officials said.