Cohasset family nearly loses farm in California's Park Fire

COHASSET — Northern California's Park Fire began in Upper Bidwell Park in Chico on July 24 and quickly spread north through Butte County.

Residents in the Cohasset didn't have much time to escape.

"We were just about to load the horses and I got a text from a firefighter friend who said 'Get out now. The horses will be fine in the dirt paddock. You need to leave,' " Jayamae Gregory said.

Gregory's property narrowly escaped becoming a total loss. Her back deck is burned and the heat knocked out her windows, but the house still stands. It was nearly a tragedy Gregory was all too familiar with.

"I unfortunately lost everything in the Camp Fire six years ago," she said.

Gregory and her children rebuilt their lives in Cohasset after being displaced for two years after the Camp Fire. Now, they have more rebuilding to do after their home was damaged in the Park Fire.

"I'm a little shell-shocked still. My 6-year-old actually said last night, 'I want things to go back to normal,' and when I asked him what normal is he said, 'not scary,' " Gregory said.

Gregory's son helped round up the animals and prepare go-bags on their small farm with the help of a 10-year-old neighbor and friend, Zander.

"We threw all the hay down so when the fire comes, they're not going to be starving," Zander said.

The fire came quickly. They were only able to take six out of the nine horses.

"When we were ready to go down, you could see the big giant smoke," Zander said.

Zander's house was also damaged in the fire but is still standing.

"I'm sad the land is burned because I loved it when it was nature," he said. "There was lots of beautiful things, and whenever I went outside it was full of life."

Pacific Gas and Electric is repairing downed power lines in Cohasset and assessing the damage. Zander is confident the community of Cohasset will be OK.

"We can do some minor repairs, and we'll be back," he said.

It's unclear at this time when Cohasset residents will be able to return home. Meanwhile, the Park Fire has grown to be among the five-largest wildfires in California history.