Photos: Musher Mary Helwig carries on

ExpandAutoplay

Image 1 of 8

The Sockeye fire consumed the four wheeler Mary Helwig used for training dogs.

Musher Mary Helwig sat on her lawn in mid-June, succumbing to the guilty pleasure of a young adult novel. It was hot, in the 80s. She wanted to soak in the sun, "battle some of the Alaska whiteness and get a little color," she said with a laugh.

A neighbor texted her: "Fire up the highway getting bigger hopefully they will get it under control just be prepared if we gotta go have a plan."

She looked up and saw the smoke. As a precaution, she packed a small suitcase of clothes, her big, purple parka with the wolf ruff. She grabbed her good, heavy bibs and her two pairs of beaver mitts. She grabbed her wool Lobben boots and then a few Swedish keepsakes. Her laptop. A fancy parka made by a dear friend.

"Oh," she remembers, "and my nice dog harnesses, too."

A neighbor came over and said the police just drove by. "They said we need to get out of here now."