It’s been 10 years since the devastation of the Rodeo-Chediski fire that claimed nearly half a million acres of Arizona forests and caused the evacuation of many communities, including Show Low, Pinetop-Lakeside, Heber-Overgaard, Clay Springs and Pinedale. While the fire brought heartache to all Arizonians, for a small few it brought the beginning of a new and better life.
Ten years ago Skeet Baker was in her Mesa home viewing the destruction created by the massive fire on her television as it raged through the forests of northeastern Arizona. “Whenever I would hear about natural disasters, I’d think about how much I wish I could just pick up and go help. When the fires happened it turned out I had the summer free and came here to see what I could do,” explained Baker.
She arrived at the Navajo County Fairgrounds in Holbrook, where hundreds of displaced animals were being housed. Many homeowners who were evacuated during the fire had places they could go, but that could not accommodate their pets. In addition, many animals were found in the fire-ridden areas and were taken to the fairgrounds in hopes of reuniting them with their owners.
Baker drove up to the fairgrounds late in the evening just as they were closing up. “Bob and Linda (Gates) were in charge of the fairgrounds at that time, and when I asked if I could just sleep in the parking lot in my car, they offered me a cot in the open class building,” she recalled.
For a week Baker worked alongside other volunteers walking, feeding and bathing animals.
“Donations were coming in from all over and that all had to be sorted out. Vets came up from the Valley and volunteered their time giving shots to ensure that no disease would spread. It was really wonderful how it all came together,” she said.
While people came together from all across the state, local residents stepped up to welcome them. “The community was wonderful. People were bringing food in these huge spreads. One lady in town invited me over to do my laundry and she also fed me dinner,” recalled Baker.
As Baker helped with the animals, one in particular caught her attention. While animal rescuers were picking up pets for families that had been unable to return to their homes, they came across a dog that was running loose near some houses. He was covered in fire retardant and was nervous of his rescuers when they finally caught him and brought him to the fairgrounds.
“When they brought him in they put him in one of the sheep pens and he would dig a hole and try to hide in the corner, then if someone came toward him, he would run to the other corner and try to hide again,” she said.
In an effort to calm the animal’s fears, Baker decided to make her own bed on a cot in the sheep’s pen near the animal. “He must have figured I wasn’t going to harm him. The next day he even let me give him a bath,” she recalled. It was after giving him the bath that the dog, now named Slurry, jumped up, placing his big paws on Baker’s shoulders. “When he jumped down I had a big muddy spot right over my heart, right then and there I knew I had to find his home.”
As she contacted residents from the area in which the dog was found, Baker received a call from a man who said he knew of the dog, but didn’t know who he belonged to. “He said he’d been feeding the dog for awhile, but it wouldn’t let him get close, so as far as he knew, he didn’t belong to anyone.”
It was then that Baker realized that Slurry did have a home; it was with her. She took the dog home and he’s been with her ever since. To mark the 10th anniversary of when it all began, Baker and Slurry made the trip back through the White Mountains and to the county fairgrounds. They came to visit old friends and had hoped to bring together others who had worked together during that time, but events like that are difficult to arrange in the summer and the two settled for a trip down memory lane.
“He’s become the love of my life and I can’t imagine being without him. He’s starting to get a little gray, but up to about a year ago you would have never guessed he was 12, 13 years old. The nervousness is gone and he’s a healthy, wonderful animal,” said Baker.
She hopes a marker will be placed at the fairgrounds someday, acknowledging the efforts that were made to care for the animals that were housed there; something that will stand as a reminder that despite all that was lost, there were also friendships forged and many lives saved.
