(Natrona County, Wyo.) – They lost 26 acres in the Station/Cole Creek Fire, but they were able to save their home. Jessie and Tyler Nelson smelled the fire Sunday morning and continued to watch it grow from their back porch along Easy Lane just off Cole Creek Road.
The wind picked up that evening, and Tyler said turned on sprinklers to protect his home, four hours before the smoke rolled in.
Tyler reported that he has spent the last two years with his family building his house for his new bride, and he was fearful to lose all of his hard work in the blaze.
“We saw the smoke roll over the hill at the same time, Jessie and I.”
“I grabbed the water hose, and he (Tyler) grabbed the tractor to start building a fire line,” said Jessie.
As the two began protecting their home the smoke rolled in. “You couldn’t see the house due to the smoke,” said Jessie, as she continued to water down furniture and other items around the home.
“I could feel the heat and see fire at the fence line of the Amoco Wind Farm. I continued to drive the tractor and build a fire line until I couldn’t take it any longer and ran inside,” said Tyler.
They were notified a short time later to evacuate, and Jessie left with only the clothes on her back and her dog Sadie, leaving Tyler to protect her home.
“As the initial flames came through, I did what I could to protect our house and the neighbors homes. I let the neighbors’ eight horses out of the corrals, breaking wood to let them out. Turkeys, goats, cows, chickens were let loose,” he said.
He reported that Sunday night was a busy one. He met up with a bunch of other neighbors in the area to corral about fourteen horses and Monday it took them four trips to get the horses out. The group hauled water to the horses to keep them alive.
Much of Monday was spent with neighbors, feeding and watering animals and checking on one another, the ones who stayed to protect their homes and livelihood.
“I was just thankful that Tyler stayed to protect our home and build the fire line,” said Jessie.
“It was just a choice you had to make. Stay and protect your home and risk being caught in the fire, or getting out and possibly losing your home. It was a tough decision to make,” said Tyler.
Tyler stayed to protect his home as well as his neighbors’.
“Sunday night it was like a war zone out here. I saw one propane tank explode and it i sounded like a machine gun shooting with people’s ammunition igniting.”
“We fared pretty well, some were not so lucky,” concluded Nelson.
If in need of assistance, contact the American Red Cross of Wyoming at 237-8436.