'Cars behind us on Mark West Springs Road were pouring flames out of the windows as they roared down the road,' he wrote on Facebook. The journey through the flames would prove deadly for one of Hendel's neighbors - Lynne Powell - but his family finally reached safety. The escape proved harrowing as the fire erupted along Mark West Springs Road. 'I made a decision to leave him, and I doubt I could have made him come with us if I tried.'

'Even under the best of circumstances it is nearly impossible to separate Odin from the goats after nightfall when he takes over the close watch from his sister Tessa,' Hendel wrote.