MINE FORK – A Mine Fork resident woke up at approximately 1 a.m. Sunday morning and glanced out the window, noticing that the building next to her home was on fire, buying her just enough time to get herself and her disabled husband out of the home before the fire spread to their home.
Lisa Shepherd told the Independent she received a call from her father, Bennie Shepherd at 3:30 a.m. on March 6, telling her they had made it out alright, but she didn’t know anything had happened. That is when she learned her dad and stepmom’s home had caught on fire.
Bennie Shepherd, who has cerebral palsy, walked down to his mother-in-law’s home to call for help and to let his daughter know what happened, with more family showing up to help them to remove some personal items from the home.
Lisa said firefighters were already at the North Magoffin Volunteer Fire Department when they received the call, helping the family get help quickly.
The couple was able to get their dog out of the house, but their cat has not been found. A firefighter told them he saw a cat run out the backdoor, but they have not found the cat.
NMVFD was able to extinguish the flames fairly quickly, Lisa said, but the next morning the fire had picked back up due to the wind. By the end of it, the fire department had to put out the fire three times before it finally was extinguished for good, with fire crews telling the family they used 15,000 gallons of water at their home, a county record for extinguishing house fires.
The forest fire started at Twin Lick, off Mine Fork, in Magoffin, burning another building in the area and the Shepherds’ building before spreading to their house.
The family was able to save some pictures off the walls and other small items from the living room, but lost most everything else, including all their clothes, most of their furniture and even Bennie’s dentures.
Lisa said the guns under the bed were mostly unscathed and the freezer still had ice in it, but most everything was a total loss.
For now, the Shepherds are staying with family, with Lisa telling the SI the following sizes for the two:
Donna wears x-large in clothes and size 8 in shoes, and Bennie wears a medium in shirts and 30/30 in pants, and 8 in shoes. Anyone wanting to donate clothing or home items can contact Lisa Shepherd on Facebook. Donations are also being taken at the Magoffin County Senior Center at the community center.
