Red slurry marks outline the edges of the Boyce Thompson Arboretum property, as the Telegraph Fire came perilously close to destroying decades worth of history.
The Telegraph Fire on Monday came racing north towards US 60 near Superior, right in the vicinity of the Boyce Thompson Arboretum, which is nearly 100 years old and home to thousands of plant species.
"Oh my God," said Executive Director Lynne Nemeth. "We were horrified."
Nemeth told ABC15 she was on a plane coming back from vacation as she received word the fire was inching toward the arboretum.
"What was going through my head was we have to get the staff and any visitors out of there, we have to protect them first," Nemeth said. "Then I was thinking, oh my God, all the people that work here, what's going to happen to them if we go up in smoke."