Lost my truck to fire while evacuating 3 horses from he Mountain Fire in Somis, CA. It was an extreme weather and Fire event like nothing I have every experienced. And has been beyond devastating so so many people. This was the scariest thing I have ever experienced, I would not wish it on anyone.

I chose a direction to evacuate that appeared to be away from the fire, but unbeknownst to me, the fire had horseshoed around, and shortly after pulling out of the property I found myself driving though the thickest smoke I have ever seen, with almost no visibility.

I immediately started praying to be able to see and to be safe. Knowing that there was no option to turn around a large horse trailer on a small, curvy, 2 lane country road, especially when I can't see more than a few feet in front of me at best. Miraculously the smoke did lift so I could see better and drive a little faster, but then...I can see flames up ahead and big embers are flying all around, hitting the windshield and the side of the horse trailer. So I said another prayer and hit the gas because I KNEW I had to get out of there as fast as possible. Several moments later we where clear, no visible smoke, no visible fire, I breathed a sigh of relief, and thought, oh my goodness, we made it. I am driving as fast as I safely can to get the horses to safety.

And then, my emissions warning comes on, and I think, come one, we have to get farther away. Thinking it was just from all of the smoke, it never occurred to me that my engine might be on fire so I am still driving, then the truck starts to slow down, that gets me maybe another half mile, and then the power steering goes, and I think, i have to pull over, if I can just make it another quarter mile there is a safe place to pull off mostly out of the road, and as I am pulling onto the shoulder, smoke starts to slowly come out of the hood. I put the truck in park and turn it off, get out, and now I can see the flames under the hood.

Two passersby slowed to help, they did not have extinguishers, but offered to call and find someone who could come with an empty horse trailer, but then they had to leave because we were still in a mandatory evac zone, and by no means in a safe place. Then within a minute, a fire vehicle (not a fire engine) comes by, and had an extinguisher, which was not enough, but he had called an engine, it showed up super fast, as well as multiple sheriff dept people and we were able to get the horses out of the trailer. The lead ropes were in the truck on fire, so we have three OTTB standing on the side of the road, as it turns out, only about a quarter mile from active fire, using just the 2.5 foot trailer ties. They really were amazingly behaved. They would have been in any circumstance but it was especially so give what we had going on. Then, after maybe 20 or 30 min, or maybe less, I don't really have an accurate grasp on time during all of that, an empty 3 horse trailer drives by and picks us up and takes us to their ranch.

I never trailer with my windows closed and without hay bags, but that day I did. No hay, and windows closed. I believe that ended being the choice that saved the horses and the trailer. I can see down the side of the trailer where the embers hit. The likely hood that they would have flown in the windows and burned the horses and started a fire inside the trailer, is very, very high.

It would be easy to look at this whole experience and only focus on how awful and wrong it was, but when I can step aside from the trauma of feeling that I narrowly escape a different very bad ending. I can see how many 'lucky' things went my way and certainly led to all of us being safe. For this I cannot say how grateful I am.

The truck, however, was not so lucky. It is a total loss. There will be some insurance but...much was still lost and the funds from this fund will help me to replace the work equipment I lost and well as replace the truck. Any excess not needed will be donated to help people and animals displaced by the fire.

I am an equine bodywork. I spend my days working with horses to help them feel better and have an easier time doing their jobs. So the sooner I can get back to work the better it will be for them and for me.

I am beyond grateful for the support I received from everyone that day, first responders, strangers on hand, passersby, friends coordinating things for me from home.

There is no way I could ever repay all the help and kindnesses I received that day, and continue to receive, so I will pay it forward to others and the horses as best as I can.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read our story, and for any support you can offer.

Myself, Mama, Dasher and Jake

One note: It has made its' way to me that some were questioning why I created this campaign and not someone else. It is because no on else offered to do it. I am not a person who asks for help, ever. But after more than a dozen people I came into contact with in the first 36 hours after the incident, every single one of them asked me for a gofundme link so they could help. So I created it. Simple as that.