John and Wendy Vittands who have lost their home in this fire were forced to evacuate early in the fire. Wendy tried to take her horses with her during the initial evacuation but firefighters would
not let her. Wendy tied her horses tied to her vehicle and was planning on leading them out with her horses following her as she didn't have a horse trailer or couldn't get them in it by herself. Firefighters would not let her do that, because they said it would take too long that way. Wendy said that the firefighter forced her to leave her horses behind so she escaped with her own life. Later John and Wendy's neighbor and horse trainer John Curry come up to the house on horseback and rescued the horses by leading them in a trail pack out to safety. John Curry obviously saved the horses lives as John and Wendy's home was destroyed. John Curry needs to be recognized for his act bravery, friendship and animal husbandry.

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The Mariposa County Chamber of Commerce has established an account for the fire victims of the Mariposa County Telegraph Fire.

Funds from the account will be disbursed to all those who have lost their homes.

Donations may be made to:
Telegraph Fire Victim Relief Fund
Yosemite Bank
PO Box 1267
Mariposa, CA 95338

Account # 307005660

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Need semi-permanent space to rent for seven horses with a house OR where there is a home for rent nearby the horse area. Prefer area with plenty of space/acreage to accomodate a dog without causing neighborhood disruptions (the dog is very friendly to all humans but can be picky towards other canines).

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SPCA has been evacuated.

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I think the word didn't get out to a lot of evacuees--the shelter services are available for all those displaced by the fire EVEN IF YOU'RE NOT SLEEPING THERE.

TOP TEN REASONS TO STOP BY THE SHELTER...
1. Need updated info? They usually have a CalFire guy come in around 10 or 11 am to give an update.
2. Need some extra clothes? They're there, and PD Quik laundromat is offering to wash your clothes for you.
3. State Farm and AAA are there to talk over insurance questions.
4. Food is free and available and lunch and dinner are served to you EVEN IF YOU'RE NOT SLEEPING THERE (save some money on groceries now, because you'll need it when you get back home and have to empty your refrigerator of your spoiled food. Plus, it's hard to cook in someone else's kitchen).
5. There are neighbors of yours who may know some news for you.
6. There's games, TV, internet connectivity (4 computers!) and entertainment for you or your kids if you're tired of hanging around your (very nice and caring) friends house and feel like giving them some space for an hour or two.
7. There's diapers, backpacks, games, toys all DONATED by our local community to help out the people displaced by the fire.
8. Network, network, network. It really works.
9. Commiserate with your neighbor who lost his house. He'd really like to talk about it.
And the TOP reason to be at the shelter at least once is...
10. One of the shelter managers with the Red Cross has been to many disasters, and he's never seen a community pull together and rally like Mariposa. He says we should be proud of what we are doing for each other. I thought that was really nice to hear! Come see your townspeople!

I have been at the shelter a lot and am impressed with the atmosphere there. I would definitely go there for a break and some camaraderie if I was evacuated!

Please pass the word!--Kristin

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A family behind the lines on Whitlock lost the use of their generator for their well,freezer,scanner & animals. If anyone has a generator they can borrow, please call John at 808-345-8841 or Joe Mallenfant at 209-742-7926. Thank you.

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Ok guys, Just a concerned tech-savy son sitting along way away. My hopes and prayers are with you all. My mom's friend lost her house yesterday. All my family is in the mariposa area. Below are some links I've found interesting and knowledgeable.

Mother Lode Fourm
http://forums.mymotherlode.com/showthread.php?t=2460&page=2

WildLand Firefighter
http://www.wildlandfire.com/hotlist/...6741#post26741

Goldrush Cam
http://www.goldrushcam.com/discus/messages/2104/2172.html

Fightfighter Blog -
http://firefighterblog.blogspot.com/

Scanner Feeds- Stuff to run in the background
http://www.incidentfeed.com/index.php?view=article&catid=1%3Alatest&id=61%3Atelegraph-incident&option=com_content&Itemid=2

Those are what I've found to be very helpfull. Much love you guys, My prayers are with you Lizzie :)

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According to the meeting tonight, the fire is still only 15% contained, but ALL the south lines held (Midpines). There were some vegetation flare ups on Rancheria Creek. The fire is moving north toward Greeley Hill.

There were a lot of questions about when people could move back home to evac-ed. areas. They don't know.

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My kids and I are going to the shelter today to see if we can help out any families with kids. I thought it might be nice to take some games and toys down there to keep the younger evacuees occupied. Dept of Health and Human Services has our number but has not responded yet. If anyone has any ideas on how to help the families with kids there, let me know. Kristin Montgomery(209)966-2996

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