Mutual Home Saved From NW OK Wildfire

A family in Mutual escaped the wildfires in northwestern Oklahoma and the fight to save their home was caught on camera by News 9 Stormtrackers Val and Amy Castor.

It started April 12, when Jennifer Carnagey first heard the fire was nearing her parents’ home. She went there and packed all she could and returned to her place.

A relative called her soon after, and told her she needed to evacuate.

“He said you need to get out of that house,” she told News 9.

And in that instant, Carnagey knew it was serious. So she and her husband got moving immediately. They put their two sons, Cannon and Ruel, who both have a neuro muscular disease, into their van and packed their must-have medical equipment.

They made it out through the thick, black smoke and would eventually leave the county to safety.

What happened next back at their home was captured by News 9 Stormtrackers Val and Amy Castor.

“He got out and came to our door and knocked to make sure nobody was here,” Carnagey said about the video. “And he knew how fast that fire was coming up.”

With winds gusting at 50 mph, their feed shows firefighters chase down the waves of flames and divert them away from the Carnagey home.

“It’s like a movie,” Carnagey said. “You see the headlights coming through the flames and the smoke.”

And when it was all said and done, their home of nearly 20 years, outfitted with all her sons need, was saved.

“That’s what they did for me and other people who had lost their homes – there’s a part of guilt that comes with that,” Carnagey explained. “I’m glad that it wasn’t us that lost our home, but I am sorry for the other people that did.”

But in a community like this one, where so many did experience horrible loss, neighbors will no doubt come together to help each other through it.