In the state of California, wildfires have taken a devastating toll on the landscape and all those who lived in its path. For one woman named Natasha Wallace, there were just minutes to escape the wildfire. In quickly gathering her most precious belongings, there was one thing that mattered to her most: her dog.
Natasha Wallace, who is a college student in the area of Santa Rosa, was on campus studying with the fire first broke out. She drove home soon after, around the hour of 1:00 a.m., and realized there was a massive outbreak of fire stretching across the freeway. It was in that moment that she knew that she was in very serious danger and needed to act quickly in order to safely escape. She was able to make it back to her home and packed some bags up with her belongings. She also brought her dog Bentley in the car with her and the two drove away to safety.
However, the massive fires made it nearly impossible to get anywhere and traffic was a mess. That meant she couldn’t even leave her neighborhood. After sitting in her car for a few moments, Natasha could see the fire quickly getting closer. She was determined to find her way to safety, and did not want to be stuck in her car so she turned around and went back home. Rather than try to drive her car, she instead emptied her bags and made room for what was most important: her dog Bentley. The 70-pound dog hopped into a duffel bag and she placed it around her neck and hopped on her bicycle. She biked for several miles until someone in a truck spotted the pair and gave them a ride the rest of the way.
Though she lost all her possessions and home in the fire, Natasha takes comfort in knowing her dog is safe. The two are staying with relatives now as they rebuild, and though they lost everything they still have each other.
