Carr Fire Victims Share Stories of Loss, Hope and Love

Personal Stories from The Carr Fire

This summer the North State community was impacted by a series of fires that took thousands of homes and several lives. We spoke to two local residents who were directly affected by the Carr Fire and were gracious enough to share their powerful stories of loss, hope, love, and the support they experienced.

Brande Moffat

Brande Moffat and her family lost their home when the Carr fire entered Redding city limits on the night of July 26th.  Support, generosity, and what Moffat described as “an outpouring of love that came our way from friends I have not seen in over 30 years – sorority sisters, old cheerleading friends from high school, college roommates, work colleagues, family, former patients, school principals, kids’ school friends” buoyed the family’s spirits in the days and weeks afterward. “We never felt alone in this,” Moffat stated. “There is incredible strength in numbers. It’s hard to focus on what you’ve lost when you are surrounded by daily reminders of the blessings in your life.”  Her children were also a big source of inspiration. “I was most touched by them because both my 12-year-old and my 14-year-old said they would be okay as long as their schools were okay, because that’s what meant the most to them…they couldn’t stand the thought of having to go to a different school without their friends.”

Going forward, Moffat said that she is “focusing on remaining present and not thinking about what has been lost, but trying to focus on the little moments to be appreciated along the way.” She and her family are also looking forward “to rebuilding and to creating an even brighter future.”

Patti Funari

As Patti Funari drove away during the Carr Fire evacuations, she had no reason to think that she would not be returning to the home where she and her husband Joe have lived for the past 30 years. “Never in a million years” did she think they would lose their home, Funari said. The couple had recently had an inspection from Cal Fire, who deemed their property defensible. “We did everything we were supposed to do,” Funari stated, but unfortunately, their diligent preparations were no match for the unprecedented behavior of the Carr Fire.

In the days that followed, Funari, like so many others, experienced overwhelming sadness over their loss, but also an inundation of love and support from near and far. In a thank you letter she penned to express the family’s gratitude, she wrote about the memories that had been made in the house, and “sentimental things that no fire can burn.”  When contemplating all the gatherings, celebrations, and even the struggles that had taken place over the last 30 years she realized that “those memories cannot be taken away.”

The effects of the Carr Fire will be felt for a long time to come. The community will take some time to heal, but for the people of the North State, the quote made popular by Anne Saunders during the Sonoma County Fires certainly rings true: “The love in the air is thicker than the smoke.”

Artwork Inspired by Wildfire will Help Benefit Fire Victims

In the days that followed her evacuation from the Carr Fire in Redding, artist Makaylah Fazzari gathered her art supplies and did what comes naturally to her; she began to draw and create. The result was a powerful wood print image depicting the fire and the emotions that it brought forth.

A Redding resident since 2000, Fazzari describes the piece as “the ache of not knowing.” She stated that she “wanted to convey a lack of control, the crackling hunger of the fire, and the deep ache of uncertainty – for myself and my hometown.”

Fazzari is donating 50% of proceeds from this print to the Shasta County Relief Fire Fund. The fund was established by the United Way of Northern California to aid victims of the Carr Fire.

For more information, or to purchase a print, please visit her website.