Every summer, the Hingers gather their essential belongings and pack them away in case a wildfire threatens their home in Okanogan. The family put this plan to good use for the first time on July 18.

The Carlton Complex wildfire, which became the largest in Washington history on July 21, came within a mile of the Hingers’ house and scorched the sides of mobile homes elsewhere on their property. The family is among thousands who have been evacuated.

“I called home and got a busy tone and kind of had an anxiety attack,” said Kimberly Hinger, a 21-year-old Pullman resident who panicked upon hearing of her family’s evacuation. “I tried to keep busy and keep my mind off of it.”

An alert on the radio notified Kimberly’s mother, Mary Hinger, that all families living on her street would have to evacuate on the morning of July 18. Mary fled the home with the family’s pets to stay with a friend in Omak.

Kimberly’s father, Doug Hinger, a volunteer fireman, was determined to stay and fend off the approaching flames but was forced to evacuate later that day. He fled to a friend’s home in Malott when the fire grew dangerously close.

The home was not destroyed, however, thanks to changing winds that directed the flames away from it.

Some parts of the family’s orchards were burnt, but no trees were touched. The mobile homes were mostly unharmed.

Mary and Doug returned to their home during the weekend.

The family has insurance and is prepared to deal with fire damage, but Kimberly said insurance does not cover sentimental value.

“We could build another house if we had to,” she said. “But it wouldn’t have been the same because my parents built our house, and I grew up in it.”

Kimberly plans to visit her parents within the next few weeks.

“I don’t know if I want to see my hometown all black and burned,” she said. “I’m not ready for that.”