Wildfires tear through California

As of Sunday, October 22, there were still 10 active wildfires burning across the state of California. In the last few weeks, 21 wildfires collectively burned over 245,000 acres of land and destroyed an estimated 8,400 buildings. The death toll has risen to 42 people, and among the dead is a Wisconsin native couple and a 14 year old boy.

Sara, 98, and Charles Rippey, known as “Peach,” 100, died together when they were unable to escape their home in Napa, CA after the Atlas wildfire struck it. “We kids would always talk about what it would be like if one of them died and the other was still alive,” said Mike Rippey, their son. A caretaker was at their home, preparing dinner when the fire started to burn the house. She attempted to save them, but the roof quickly started caving in. She was unable to get either of them out of the house in time. Both Sara and Charles were asleep when the fire started, and would have needed wheelchairs to get out of the house. “They just couldn’t be without each other. The fact that they went together is probably what they would have wanted.”

The couple grew up in Hartford, WI and met almost 90 years ago in their elementary school. They both graduated from University of Wisconsin-Madison and were married in 1942. Last March, they celebrated their 75th anniversary with family in their Napa home. Charles was a mechanical engineering graduate and served in WWII as a Captain in the Army Corps of Engineers. He then had a successful career at Firestone Tire and Rubber Company. After the war, the couple settled down in Wisconsin and had five children. When the children grew up, most of them moved to California and their parents soon followed, longing to be close to their family. Charles went to work at Norris Industries in Brea, California. Sara was an avid bridge player and enjoyed games of golf and tennis at the local country club. Mike Rippey also spoke about their family having no plans to rebuild their parent’s home, “Without them, it doesn’t mean a thing. It’s gone. They’re gone.”

The Redwood Valley fire swept through Mendocino County, resulting in the death of the fires’ youngest victim, 14 year old Kai Shepherd. In 2015, Kai’s parents, Jon and Sara Shepherd, built their “dream home” at the end of a dirt driveway in a small community called Redwood Valley. Kai lived there with his parents and older sister, Kressa. He was an eighth grader at Eagle Peak Middle School and was very active there. He wrestled, played baseball, and had recently joined the school band, playing saxophone.

As the flames closed in on the family’s house, the four Shepherds fled to their car but the car was alight when they got there. From the car, Jon ran towards the street and Sara, Kressa and Kai ran back towards the house. A neighbor who survived the fire by hiding in a metal trailer found Kressa and Sara badly burned in their driveway. Kressa’s legs were later amputated below the knee due to the severity of her burns. The neighbor found Kai’s body less than 30 feet from his sister and mother.

The Redwood Valley fire that killed Kai Shepherd has been 98% contained as of October 23rd, and the Atlas fire that took the lives of Sara and Charles Rippey has been 95% contained. Unfortunately, wildfires continue to ravage the West, setting ablaze states like California, Montana, Oregon, Washington and Idaho, while still threatening homes, businesses, and lives.