Reno Neighbors Barely Spoke Before the Hawk Fire. A Stray Cat Changed That

Nine households on a single Reno cul-de-sac fed the same orange stray cat. None of them knew what the others called him.

They found out only after the Hawk Fire nearly took the street.

The cat survived. So did all 20 houses on Peppermint Court, in the North Valleys near U.S. 395 and Stead Boulevard.

Thirty Minutes

The fire reached the neighborhood just before 7 p.m. on Aug. 22. Homes nearby were already burning as Reno police used bullhorns to order residents out.

Gabriel Reynaga, who lives on the court, described the speed of it plainly. He came home from work and everything was fine. Thirty minutes later it wasn’t.

The Hawk Fire killed one person, destroyed 47 homes and forced roughly 90,000 people to evacuate across about 15,000 acres.

Reno Police Chief Corey Solferino later called it the fastest-moving fire he had seen in 27 years of law enforcement.

The Decision in the Driveway

Kimberly Offenbacher was leaving with her four-week-old daughter in the back seat. Her husband had already gone with the couple’s two dogs and their indoor cat.

Flames were reaching the back fence. In her mirror she could see the stray, Corkscrew, sitting in the middle of the street.

She considered driving toward the fire to get him. She hesitated, then kept driving, the Reno Gazette Journal reported.

Offenbacher said afterward that she isn’t sure the cat would have let her pick him up. He rubbed against legs, she said, but she had never tried to grab him.

Animal welfare groups generally advise evacuating without an animal that can’t be caught quickly, rather than delaying under an active order.

Nine Names, No Owner

The cat was named Corkscrew for his short, twisted tail. Elsewhere on the street he was Ginger, Tiger, Toby, O.J., Orange Kitty and Boots.

Reynaga and his wife called him Boots because he resembled a cat they had lost years earlier.

At Roger Koch’s house, the cat used the dog door for six years and kept his own bowl on the kitchen counter. Koch said the cat came for a snack and then left.

The arrangement left him with no single owner. A cat fed by several households typically has no microchip, no vaccination record and nobody listed to claim him if he turns up injured at a shelter.

If a Pet is Left Behind

Standard guidance from animal services agencies is to prop open a shed or garage on the way out and leave water rather than food, which can attract wildlife.

Owners are advised to contact the county shelter the same day instead of waiting for re-entry, and to search after dark, when cats move and respond to familiar voices.

Why This Matters

Washoe County Regional Animal Services took in more than 300 evacuated animals within days of the fire, including 155 dogs and 87 cats, shelter supervisor Arthur Westbrook said. The facility reached capacity quickly.

Each of those animals had an owner who could identify them. Corkscrew had nine families and no way onto that list.

Koch has since created a Facebook page called Friends of Orange Kitty. Neighbors who previously recognized one another by house color now exchange phone numbers and greet each other in the street.

When Offenbacher’s husband finally got past a roadblock, every house on Peppermint Court was standing. He photographed none of them. He took a picture of the cat drinking from a water bowl.

Do you know your neighbors’ names, or only their house color? Share your story in the comments.

For more reporting and pet care guides, follow Furry Found on X and Facebook.

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and is not emergency or veterinary advice. Follow official evacuation orders and contact local animal services regarding a missing pet.