Fire At Mamoo Ray's

My Daddy was the volunteer Fire Chief for the Alturas Fire Department. One night, he got a call about a fire that needed his help. We girls were home and decided to drive behind Daddy and see where it was. Well, we followed him to Lake Garfield. Around the lake and up in the distance you could see the fire. When we got near the fire, to our shock, we realized it was Mamoo Ray's two story house. We turned around and rushed home to get mother and bring her to be with Granddaddy and Mamoo. Oh, what a hot fire. Mamoo and Granddaddy and Ralph and Bertha Gay all lived together. They all got out with their sleeping clothes on. The fire started with faulty wiring in the attic where Mamoo had all her stuff stored. Mamoo sat in our car and just stared with tears in her eyes. She was a quiet spoken person and she had to sit there and watch all her stuff burn up. The wooden house got so hot, Daddy had to back off. The Bartow Fire Dept came too and everyone had to back off and let it burn. They watered down the houses beside the burning house. Finally Daddy and The Bartow Fire Dept used a long pole and pushed down the fireplace and brick chimmey and we watched it burn. It was so hot, the area smoked for days. The daughters of Mamoo bought them a mobile home in Alturas and they moved there to live the rest of their lives.