Last Friday, a large fire blew through the 1900 block of Road 175, stretching over a mile long. The fire blazed through the homesteads of Jim and Nancy Moon, and their daughter and son-in-law, Jeremy and Rachelle Joy.
The fire damaged nine outbuildings, completely leveling a male goat pen to ash. Together, the family lost over ten rabbits, a flock of ducks and a flock of chickens, and Agnes, a beloved pregnant goat.
“Every time that we talk about it, I cry, and she [Rachelle] cries,” Dawn Aye, a neighbor and family friend, said. Aye is currently keeping two surviving male goats at her farm and treating their burns.
“It’s like therapy for us, when they [ the Joy Family] come down and they bottle feed the babies,” Aye said. “If the winds had shifted, my farm would have been gone too. It would have wiped out at least four properties in between.”
The fire encircled the Joys' A-frame home that they were in the process of remodeling, creating a circle around the home but not once touching it. A pile of logs burnt next to the house, and although the front pillars were slightly scorched, nothing inside the half-circle was touched.
“Insurance, they had never seen that before,” Aye said.”She [Rachelle] showed me, there was a pallet inside that circle. If that pallet had caught fire, it would have burnt her house down because it was underneath their deck that they're building on the back of the house.”
The fire traveled to the Moons’ house, and Jim was desperately fighting the fire with a garden house. The attached garage burned, destroying a vehicle and four deep freezers full of food, which held a whole hog and a wide variety of livestock.
The fence separating the two properties was damaged, and a donkey pen and shelter in the middle of the driveway burned. Jim was able to free the donkeys before they were damaged and retrieved them safely after the fire. Jim also saved several dogs from inside the house.
“The fire did not go in the house as far as they know yet,” Aye said. “There was smoke damage, and they haven't been able to get power to that house yet.”
The duck run was demolished, and an air-conditioned and heated rabbit barn was destroyed to the point that they could no longer identify any of the rabbits’ bodies. At the back of the house, the chicken coop was burned to the point that no signs of the building remain.
Both Jeremy and Jim fought the fires and were treated for smoke inhalation at the hospital. Rachelle and Rachelle’s daughter were evacuated from the premises, and along with Aye, were not allowed by first responders to return to the homestead. When they were able to return, they rescued animals still remaining on the property, but many had already perished. Two female goats and all male goats, several coon pigs, and the donkeys were saved, although some were severely burned. A flock of turkeys survived by bunching together, but were severely wounded.
Aye said that the fire has left the Moons and the Joys in a state of shock. Local neighbors and the community have pulled behind the families, bringing home-cooked meals, donating animal feed, and sending kind messages on social media.
“Everything was so heartbreaking,” Aye said. “They could have lost Rachelle’s dad and husband when they were trying to save the farm, and if they hadn't been able to get her mom and daughter out, there's so much more that could have happened that didn't, and thank goodness that it didn't.”
The families’ strong church community at New Life Christian Church has rallied behind them by preparing meals and offering encouragement. People have offered them chicks once they hatch, bales of hay, and Aye’s ex-sister-in-law and niece have donated a new chicken coop.
The most pressing needs for the Joys and Moons are animal feed, toiletries, meals, and supplies. The families will adopt more angora rabbits from breeders in Colorado and North Carolina once the rabbit barn is replaced, and donations towards gas and transportation will be put to good use.
“I’m thankful that I was home and able to run down there,” Aye said. “I'm thankful for all the firefighters that were trying their hardest to get everything under control. In the country, you need to know all your neighbors, so if something happens, you can reach out and get help.”
Donations can be brought to Aye’s house or given over to Aye at another location. If anyone is interested in donating, contact Aye at dawnaye74@gmail.com or by calling or texting 620-344-2546. Donations may also be sent via Paypal to @dawnaye.
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