Amid smoke and ruin, a good son’s quest to rescue his parents’ cat

Drew Olin, retrieves his parents cat Golden who was left behind when they first evacuated from their home along Lovall Valley Rd. east of Sonoma, California, USA 14 Oct 2017. Drew Olin, retrieves his parents cat Golden who was left behind when they first evacuated from their home along Lovall Valley Rd. east of Sonoma, California, USA 14 Oct 2017. Photo: Peter DaSilva / Special To The Chronicle Photo: Peter DaSilva / Special To The Chronicle Image 1 of / 75 Caption Close Amid smoke and ruin, a good son’s quest to rescue his parents’ cat 1 / 75 Back to Gallery

A smoky haze cloaked the hillsides around Sonoma as Drew and Fernanda Olin trudged up Lovall Valley Road, holding an empty cat carrier.

They were on a mission for Drew’s parents, who fled their home late Friday as the Nuns Fire overtook their neighborhood on the east side of Sonoma. In their frantic rush to get out, they had left behind their beloved orange tabby named Golden — whom they couldn’t find.

Like any good son, Drew, 48, promised to go back to find Golden. On Saturday, he and his newlywed wife, Fernanda, 35, left their Petaluma home, drove 20 miles, then hiked along a warren of backroads to search for Golden.

They sidestepped a police line. They walked two miles. Then they reached the spacious ranch house on Lovall Valley Road.

It was about 1:30 p.m. Saturday. Only an hour before, a 40-foot wall of flames had rolled downhill toward the town, devouring several acres before it passed Drew’s parents’ house. The scene was still hot. Cinders were popping all around the house, tiny fingers of fire were crackling, and much of the yard was caked in smoldering ash. Inside the home, an alarm was bleating.

The house had survived the fire — and checking on the house was important, but almost secondary.

This treacherous trek was every bit as much for Golden. They love him. They had to try.

“Golden, Golden!” they called out, again and again, as helicopters dropped water nearby.

They looked under a wide deck.

“There you are!” Fernanda exclaimed with delight.

Golden was squatting under the deck — too far back to grab. But they could see his eyes peering out like two tiny flashlight bulbs.

For the next 40 minutes they cooed and coaxed. Finally, slowly, Golden tiptoed out. Drew cradled him with a big smile as he approached the cat carrier held out by Fernanda.

They were so close to completing their rescue.

But the sight of the carrier was too much for Golden — he bolted from Drew’s arms and ran away. Drew crossed his arms over his chest, closed his eyes, and tipped his head back for one long, frustrated moment.

Back the two went to sticking their heads under the deck.

“Golden, Golden! Come here, Kitty!” they called. “That’s a good cat now. Come! Come!”

They considered tearing up the boards of the deck, but rejected that idea. They thought of putting food at the edge of the deck, then realized that would take too long.

Just then, a helicopter dropped a huge load of water with a loud crash right next to their house, dousing out one of the hot spots.

Drew turned to Fernanda and said, “We’d better go.”

They lumbered back downhill with the empty carrier. At least they could tell Drew’s parents that Golden had made it.

“I think they have a good eye on the fire,” Drew said. “He’ll be OK for now. We’ll try tomorrow for sure.”

Kevin Fagan and Rachel Swan are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: kfagan@sfchronicle.com, rswan@sfchronicle.com