‘It’s all gone.’ Volunteer fire chief loses home to California wildfire he’s fighting
As flames neared the community of Berry Creek on Sept. 8 in Northern California, volunteer fire chief Reed Rankin went door-to-door telling his neighbors to flee.
“We told them, ‘Get in your car and go now. You have no time,’” Rankin said, KTXL reported. The next day, Rankin discovered the wildfire had destroyed his home and shop while he fought to save others.
“Everything you ever had collected, all your photo albums, everything you ever had in your life was just right there and it’s all gone,” Rankin said, according to the station.
“I have totally nothing right now,” he said, KRCR reported.
Six of seven volunteer firefighters in the Butte County town lost their homes to the North Complex West Zone fire, KTXL reported. But Rankin has no plans to leave the fire line.
“But you know what, I’m still working on the fire, I’m still supporting the community and I just want to take care of my community and save what houses we got,” he said, KRCR reported. Rankin said he’s determined to rebuild and “get back to where we were.”
A GoFundMe account established to help Rankin, whose home was not insured, had raised more than $14,000 by Monday afternoon.
Berry Creek, a secluded rural community of about 1,200 people, was left in ashes by the fast-moving blaze, The Sacramento Bee previously reported.
“I’ve only seen three homes left standing,” said Sacramento Bee photographer Jason Pierce on Sept. 9, reporting from the hill town. “Dozens of houses and businesses are destroyed. Every house is just dust.”
In California, more than 7,700 wildfires have blackened more than 3.1 million acres, killing 20 people, according to the state Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
The North Complex Fire, which began Aug. 18, has burned more than 261,000 acres in Plumas and Butte counties, CalFire reported. The fire is 26% contained.
This story was originally published September 14, 2020 at 4:35 PM with the headline "‘It’s all gone.’ Volunteer fire chief loses home to California wildfire he’s fighting."