Sheep Fire victim Bobby Wright gives thanks for his dogs that survived
10:00 PM PDT on Wednesday, October 28, 2009
By JAN SEARS
The Press-Enterprise
Special Section: Inland Wildfires
Smoky and Lady would have some hair-raising tales to tell, if only they could talk.
Smoky, a golden-eyed, 6-month-old mutt, would tell of wandering more than two weeks on scorched feet through the barren landscape of Swarthout Canyon, feeding on what carrion she could find. Last Friday, after 16 days on her own, she returned to the wreckage of her home, gaunt with starvation, her feet stinking of infection.
Lady, a 6-year-old Queensland heeler, would tell of scaling a six-foot chain-link fence to escape the flames about to consume her kennel on Oct. 3.
To Bobby Wright, 64, a recreation technician for the U.S. Forest Service whose trailer and kennels were destroyed in the Sheep Fire in San Bernardino County, the dogs are a gift.
"Praise the Lord," he says softly, for those two and for Bubba, the third survivor.
Wright, who rescues dogs that have been dumped along Cajon Boulevard in Devore or in Lytle Creek to the east, had 22 animals living in chain-link kennels around his trailer off Sheep Canyon Road, in the rolling hills of the Cajon Pass.
He was on duty when the fire swept through. He and his boss, Jack Kennedy, a forest protection officer, were evacuating Swarthout Canyon, staying ahead of the wind-driven flames, but just barely.
They were near Wright's home when the inferno raced in. They were close enough to see the kennels. They spent a moment talking about getting the dogs out, and Kennedy's mustang, penned nearby. Kennedy didn't believe there was time.
"I was watching the flame tips, and they started to change their behavior," he says. The wind was shifting. "It was just -- boom -- and the place was gone. We would have been in there." He shook his head, looking at the twisted wreckage of Wright's home.
Wright had been watching, too. He walked away in tears.
The next day, they buried most of the dogs.
Kennedy's horse survived, thanks to a firefighting helicopter that dropped a load of water on her, crushing her barn in the process.
Finally contained on Oct. 11, the blaze charred 7,128 acres and destroyed five structures.
The fire rekindled bad memories for Wright. He lost his home during the Grand Prix Fire in October 2003, when he was living in the Middle Fork of Lytle Creek. That time, too, he was on duty. All he had left was the Forest Service uniform he was wearing. But that time, colleagues were able to rescue 16 of his dogs and four cats.
"Praise the Lord," he says in a mild tone.
This time, he came through with his uniform, three dogs and his vehicle.
"Praise the Lord," he says of his Jeep. "I'd really be stuck without wheels."
Now he's trying to regroup. He and his daughter, Rosie Wright, 23, are temporarily staying with Kennedy. Bobby Wright is "chasing down a trailer" and hopes to get re-established soon.
A San Bernardino native, he loves the expanse of the Cajon Pass canyons.
"I'd like to stay right here in this area," he says. "I just like it out here in the back country."
Even burned over, Swarthout and Sheep canyons are beautiful, a surprising landscape of wide-open spaces, bright-blue skies and silence.
Forest Service workers have donated clothing, a bed and a refrigerator to Wright. A furniture drive is planned for Nov. 7.
Wright just wants to get settled, so he can go back to saving dogs other people don't want. He has found homes for some 800 over the past six or seven years, says his friend Steve Boyd, president of the Lytle Creek Volunteer Association.
"People dump so many in Lytle Creek," Wright says. The canyon has trees and shade and a year-round stream.
"It's probably a way to get over the bad feeling, leaving their pet in what looks like a nice place," he says. "But they still starve."
Wright says he has little trouble finding homes for the small dogs.
"The little old ladies would get in a fistfight over them," he says with a quiet chuckle.
The larger dogs are more challenging.
The three he has now are with him for good, he says. All are expected to recover from their burns. Smoky's injuries may be the most serious. Some of her toes have been burned down to nubs. Lady will have no toenails and probably has climbed her last fence. Bubba likely will have a burn scar on his back.
Makes no difference to Wright. They're family now, he says. "Praise the Lord."
Reach Jan Sears at 951-368-9477 or
jsears@PE.com How to Help
A furniture drive is planned to help Sheep Fire victim Bobby Wright, who lost his home and most of the 22 dogs he was rescuing. Monetary donations also are welcome.
Furniture donation: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Nov. 7
Where: Lytle Creek Ranger Station, 1209 Lytle Creek Road, Lytle Creek, CA 92358
Donations: Checks can be made out to the Lytle Creek Volunteer Association, with notations that they are for the Bobby Wright Fund, and mailed to the ranger station.
Information: 909-382-2851
Thanks Gary for posting the PE site for the follow-up story on Bobby Wright. Haven't heard much of anything in the Victorville PE.
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