A 70-year-old woman, her partner, and his son all lost their lives when a California wildfire devastated their property in Napa County. On Aug. 25, the woman’s grieving son shared his immeasurable loss while imploring others to pay heed to evacuation orders in their area.
The family, Mary Hintemeyer, Leo McDermott, and Leo’s son Tom, perished in the blazing Hennessey Fire, part of the spreading LNU Lightning Complex wildfires, which engulfed their land near Lake Berryessa. The blaze trapped the three family members inside a makeshift underground fire shelter in which they had sought refuge.
She even texted McNeal a photo of the fire in the distance before telling him that she may seek refuge in their root cellar, dug into the hillside, with her partner and his son. Then suddenly, she ceased replying to McNeal’s messages.
A search-and-rescue team later found the family’s remains inside the shelter, which had proven no match for the ferocity of the blaze.
“They called the planes off,” said McNeal. “The next thing you know, it erupted. Nobody had a chance.”
Through tears, the grieving son revealed that his mother’s greatest fear had been burning. “She didn’t even want to be cremated. [But] that’s how things ended up,” he said.
McNeal described his mother as his best friend and one of the most caring people he had ever met, adding, “I hope I can get half of that in myself.” The only memento that McNeal was able to salvage from his mother’s scorched property was a small brown porcelain trinket in the shape of a treasure chest.
To date, fires have engulfed 369,000 acres of land and crossed into five California counties. Napa County and Lake County’s Hennessey Fire, the blaze where McNeal’s mother died, is 33 percent contained.
In the wake of his personal tragedy, McNeal implores others to take action if, and when, evacuation orders are sounded in their areas.
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