As they sifted through the debris at a Northern California ranch Tuesday, the grandfather told Kyle Orozco that a distant relative bought the ranch for $10 in 1910. All that remained of his ranch after last week’s deadly fires roared through were four foundations where buildings once stood. They were visible above a thick layer of ash with chunks of concrete and sections of sheet metal strewn around. The grandfather focused on the positive as Orozco, a firefighter with Siuslaw Valley Fire and Rescue in Florence, and his two colleagues joined the man’s son and his two grandsons in hunting for his great-grandmother’s wedding ring.
The family, along with pets and horses, escaped to safety, he said.
The group found the ring, along with a pair of earrings, an antique Colt .45 handgun and some other antiques — items that offered the grandfather a small measure of solace, Orozco said. “You could tell he was heartbroken,” he said.