Congresswoman Harriet Hageman (R-WY) reported that her family is in shock as a result of the destructive wildfires that tore through her area over the weekend.
In the 2022 Republican primary, Hageman—who defeated former Congresswoman Liz Cheney (R-WY)—fought back tears as she spoke about her family being uprooted from their house when the fires in McGinnis Pass destroyed it. Her childhood home was a primitive ranch around 100 miles north of Cheyenne on the eastern edge of Wyoming, until it was destroyed by wildfires that crossed the Haystack Range. According to Hageman, “it’s been pretty devastating,” Cowboy State Daily said.
Working the phone lines from Washington, the Republican congressman made sure her brother Hugh and older sister Julia in Torrington could take care of their mother Marion Hageman, 100, who resides in a nearby nursing home. “I just saw her a couple of days ago when I was home. I’m not even sure she even knows about this fire yet,” said Hageman of their mother. “It was a very old log house, with very thick walls because they didn’t split the wood. It was very cold in the wintertime,” she recalled. “We had one woodburning stove, and we would take Montgomery Ward catalogs when we were younger and put them on the stove and heat them through, and then wrap them in fabric and take them to bed to stay warm.”
The family was unlucky to be caught in the rapidly changing course of wildfires that were still out of control, as authorities had warned on Friday. “Attention!!! Residents of Hartville and Whalen Canyon Evacuate Now! The winds have changed and the fire is advancing west. Pleasant Valley residents begin evacuation process.” For the second time in less than a week, Hartville residents and those in the neighboring Whalen Canyon were forced to flee.
“We grew up in an area we referred to as ‘The Hills,’” Hageman said. “We grew up in the Haystacks, and in a house that was on the Cheyenne to Deadwood stage trail. It was an old, old home, you know, 100-plus years old.” The home was “very special to all of us. That’s where we were all raised. It burned.”
