Some Siskiyou County residents are just now getting back into their homes and properties after evacuating from the Klamathon Fire late last week.
“It was definitely a relief,” said Casie Mutina.
Casie Mutina and Chris Vineyard live near Klamathon Road where the fire first started last Thursday. They thought they’d lose everything.
“You could see where the fire had come down… it was right next to the house…,” said Chris Vineyard.
They’re like so many others in Northern Siskiyou County who weren’t sure if they, or their homes, were going to survive; Casie and Chris evacuated, while others chose to stay.
For one Hilt resident, the fire may have been close but it wasn’t close enough.
“We did okay. We just moved stuff around,” said Bill Rooker.
Bill Rooker didn’t evacuate. He says he lost 75 acres at another property from a fire in Colestin, Oregon back in 1980. And although he says the Klamathon Fire did give him a scare, he needed to stay put for one reason.
“Well, our responsibility for our livestock,” he said.
Rooker’s decision appears to have paid off. His property suffered no damage.
Casie and Chris were also lucky. However, returning home is bittersweet they say as their neighbors and some of their friends lost everything.
“There houses have burned down. It was very sad.”
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