San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Family reunion turns into wildfire struggle
Descendants of Mariposa homesteaders unite at 100-year-old property right before it burns
MARIPOSA — Descendants of Margarite and Garfield Carter, homesteaders who settled in the hills above Mariposa a century ago, were gathering on the family property in Carter Valley last Friday and preparing for a weekend family reunion when they smelled smoke.
Walking outside, they spotted a gray cloud emanating from a wildfire climbing over the mountain behind the house. They knew they would eventually have to flee, but thought they’d have time to get horses and cows evacuated, put pets into vehicles and pack some belongings.
Twenty-five minutes later, their plans changed when the fire closed in, winds whipped up and the blaze exploded into an inferno that boxed them in on two sides, turning a quiet afternoon into a fight to escape, and save the nine
“The Paradise fire taught us at least one lesson.
Don’t stay. Don’t get stuck.”
Ann Reback, a family member who arrived from Atlanta just 20 minutes before the gathering scent of smoke became apparent
family homes on the property. They had to watch two of them burn to the ground.
“It blew up,” said Chuck Carter, 74, a former ski instructor and wildland firefighter who lives on the family land. “It went everywhere around us. The flames were spinning. The winds must have been 70 miles an hour. Everything was blowing around; it was like being in a tornado — it was explosive.”
They knew it was time to get out — and fled, with Chuck’s wife forced to drive through flames to escape.
“The Paradise fire taught us at least one lesson,” said Ann Reback, 53, a family member who arrived from Atlanta just 20 minutes before the gathering scent of smoke became apparent. “Don’t stay. Don’t get stuck.”
The Oak Fire, which had burned through more than 19,000 acres by Saturday morning in the steep, wooded hills west of Yosemite National Park and sent a plume of smoke across the Sierra and beyond, is the largest wildfire to ignite in Northern California so far this season. It had destroyed 168 structures and threatened over 1,000 more.
The rapid spread through drought-stressed forest and brush amid hot weather followed a pattern that has become all too familiar during California’s fire season, as larger, fast-moving wildfires force residents to flee with little notice.
On Friday, Ann and other family members waited at the bottom of Carter Road, the entrance to the valley, as neighbors poured out and a sheriff ’s deputy pulled in.
Chuck and his brother, Mike Carter, decided to stay and fight to save their homes. Luckily, the water and electricity needed to pump out water from wells, was still on. Chuck ran around putting out spot fires popping up all over the property. Then his mother’s house, the original 1922 house passed down to his parents — the home he grew up in — went up in flames.
The corner of Chuck’s house caught fire, too, about the same time the electricity and the water supply finally cut out. Chuck frantically ran around grabbing whatever water he could find — from water bottles to dog bowls to toilets. But it wasn’t enough. Nor were the two overhead water drops from Cal Fire helicopters.
The flames spread quickly and, with no water to douse them, Chuck was forced to relent.
“He had to make a choice,” said Reback, his cousin. “Save his dogs’ lives and his life or save the house.”
Resigned, he hopped into the cab of his pickup truck, joining his two dogs, and parked it in a safe spot in a field that had already burned. It offered a clear view of his childhood home and the house he built in 1989. Both were in flames.
“We sat there for hours and watched everything burn,” he said, his voice cracking slightly. “I just wanted to see it happen. We stayed until everything burnt to the ground.”
Mike Carter’s home survived. So did the horses, which were taken from the property and several cows, which were let loose during the fire. Mike found them later on a nearby road and led them home. Still missing are two cats Chuck was unable to find as the flames neared.
Then Chuck drove off, early, wearing the only shirt he has left — a San Francisco Giants T-shirt. He’s been staying with family in Mariposa. He hasn’t tried to go back to the area, which remained under evacuation orders Wednesday.
The destruction of his home wasn’t the end of the bad news. His home was not insured, he said, as the insurance company canceled the policy in December and he was unable to find another insurer and had temporarily put off the search.
“We waited too long,” he
Top: The sign for the Carter Ranch now marks the spot where two of the Carter family’s homes were burned to the ground. Center: Trent Carter William points to an early 1900s family photo of the Carter family at his barbershop in Mariposa, Bottom: Chuck Carter recalls evacuating from his family’s homestead in Mariposa as the Oak Fire approached. said. “We made a big mistake — but it’s all hindsight now. I don’t think we can rebuild but thank goodness we have a place to live.”
Chuck and his wife plan to move into a cabin on the family’s property and start rebuilding their lives and replacing their belongings. Chuck lost a lot in the fire, he said. A barn on his property, also incinerated, contained the family’s original farming and ranching equipment.
“I lost a lot of stuff,” he said, “but nothing lasts forever. I’m just grateful to be around this family and this community.”
Mariposa folks have responded compassionately, Chuck said, bringing food and offering help, including financial assistance in some instances.
“Mariposa is a small town and the outpouring of love is incredible,” he said. “I’m overwhelmed by it.”
And while the fire may have ruined two of the Carter family homes — and spoiled the family reunion — it brought an already tight-knit family closer in a time of need.
“The family was all together here,” said Trent Williams, one of Chuck’s cousins. “It was a chance to support each other but also to mourn what was lost.”