In chaos of Oak Fire evacuation resident tells how cat went missing and then is found
A destructive wildfire near Yosemite National Park is burning out of control and has grown into one of California’s biggest blazes of the year.
Thousands of residents were ordered to flee remote mountain communities.
One of them was Amber Blalock,who lives in the Lushmeadows community in Mariposa County resident. She says her family had to evacuate without their cat.
“And so we got the call that we had to evacuate and the fire was coming quickly. I have two children and my daughter, Sarah, she’s 11. My son is eight and we had to quickly get as much as we can. And we have a cat that likes to go outside. And so we were able to get one dog and one cat and we had to just open the gate to let our chickens save themselves. But we couldn’t find Coda.”
She said her daughter called for him but there was no sign of him.
“And so we just said a prayer and we just knew that God would take care of our Coda. And so we just kept praying and we kept praying. And so I called the sheriff’s department and they said that they would get back to us. I didn’t hear anything. I called again the next day and we just kept worrying. He was going to be hungry and thirsty.”
But Blalock called again and discovered animal control officials found him.
“So our daughter and our son are just so thrilled and we just can’t wait to reunite them all together. And he just calms some of our kiddos anxiety. And we’re all back together.”
Some 2,000 firefighters are battling the Oak Fire, contending with steep terrain and hot weather. The blaze erupted Friday southwest of the park in Mariposa County.
Cal Fire described “explosive fire behavior” on Saturday as flames made runs through bone-dry vegetation caused by the worst drought in decades.
By Sunday the blaze had consumed more than 22 square miles of forest land. The cause is under investigation.
This story was originally published July 25, 2022 at 10:09 AM with the headline "In chaos of Oak Fire evacuation resident tells how cat went missing and then is found."
