Lower Sugar Loaf Fire Evac

5:21pm - September 25th, 2025

Walking from the goat and sheep barn in the late afternoon sun, my eyes were drawn to the far ridge where a glow of neon orange suddenly illuminated like a single polka dot on the horizon. “Oh, shit.” I thought. The stiff breeze over my skin, I could feel my stomach tighten, my heart sink and an overall uneasiness consume my body.  

I realized the Sugar Loaf fire had just jumped the ridge, headed our way. And with the wind, how quickly it could potentially move.

It was the night before my Dad’s memorial. Exhausted and numb, I was at the Sanctuary working, alone. Realizing it was still pretty far away, I didn’t have any interest in waiting.

I called my Mom and asked her to come be here “just in case.” I also asked Eric to leave his event early and come home. I just needed them here.

The fire continued to steadily grow, literally by the minute.

About 6:25pm

I was so relieved to see my Mom when she showed up. I had already started moving crates and staging items.

We still were not on any Advisory, but I was not waiting. With Over 50 lives to care for, time is of the essence.

“Let’s start loading bunnies, they are the hardest.” I told her.

7:30pm

Folks had heard the fire had jumped the ridge and were calling, texting, checking in. With our awesome cell coverage it was hard to respond. Some I simply replied, “Yes” and fortunately it wasn’t long before people were arriving in groups! 

I remember feeling overwhelmed by the number of volunteers, friends, and supporters who showed up at night, on a whim to help.

We saw cars start filing down the road. I asked, “Did I miss something?” My phone starts beeping. We were suddenly on a level three.

This was not our first time to load, but it was our first time to actually leave. We had had a fair amount of practice, so it went rather quickly and smoothly, with so many people from our community rallying to help us, we actually ended up with more help then we needed. It was the most wonderful gift to have.

Leaving

We were loaded and ready to drive away in less than two hours. We had everyone except for one cat, who likes to go off property during the day, and one bunny, who went into his burrow and had more persistence than the four humans patiently waiting to catch him for over an hour. Cottontail chose to spend the night in his burrow and Buddha was in his own place where at least we knew he was free to run. Everybody else was safe with us. Everyone else was loaded. We had multiple drivers, the precious items from our house, our office paperwork... everything we truly needed, except for Cottontail and Buddha, in case we ended up having nothing to come back to.

It is definitely an odd feeling driving away from your home, not knowing if you will see it again.

I am sure the neighbors in Wenatchee loved when a truck, trailer and van pulled in to my Mom’s house with over 50 residents to spend the night. They likely didn’t notice until about 4:30am when the roosters were ready to say “Good Morning.”

Needless to say, I didn’t make my flight that morning or my Dad’s memorial. The most difficult part of it all. I know he would have wanted me to stay and be where I needed to be, but it didn’t replace the sorrow of not being there to celebrate him with my family and his friends.

We’ve loaded many times. Many just Eric and I, as staff, volunteers, Board Members, even my mom, has been turned away from an entry point, because they’ve closed the road and won’t let anyone through to help us.

So, if there’s only one person at the sanctuary, we need a larger trailer to get everybody out with one driver. The goats, sheep and pigs can all fit in the trailer. Leaving the van to carry the crates with the remaining birds, bunnies, dogs, and cats. If we have a larger trailer it would help us sleep at night and know in one of the worst case scenarios, we would at least have a chance of getting everybody out safely.

We need You to make that possible! Even if you can’t be with us tonight, which we would love more than anything. You can still provide safety for the residents in a fire by donating to the tailer and knowing that your dollar will be doubled with the most generous $5000 match.

If a fire comes, we want to leave together.