Morgan Howard ('27) Bravely Faces Tragedy Before Her Senior Year

Home is where we love space and time, where we rest and grow, old enough to know the spirit of family, even away from home.

Gonzaga senior Morgan Howard woke up August 1 in her childhood bedroom, the rest of her family out of town. She was alone for the weekend, playing house in the only home she’s ever known. But the weekend could not promise any relaxation. Soon, Howard would be driving herself to work, but before her shift came the most demanding effort of her life.

When the Old Trails Fire lit up in northern Spokane, Howard was getting ready to work at Daily Dose, a coffee stand on Division Street near Gonzaga. Smoke was visible, but the fire had yet to be communicated as a threat to the Indian Trail neighborhood, or Howard’s commitment to arrive to work on time. She connected with her neighbor, a retired fireman, before taking off.

“He said we would probably have to evacuate, but I decided to go to work because we weren’t in evacuation at all yet,” Howard says.

On her way to Daily Dose, smoke drove higher and advanced behind Howard’s rearview mirror until her drive was grey and fogged by responsibility. Howard called her parents wondering if she should turn around to get their dog and cat, Kirby and Kitty. With her family’s support, Howard turned her drive around to face the growing smoke and potential tragedy. Now under a Level 3 evacuation order, her neighborhood was in a crisis, families grabbing valuables and fleeing from their homes together.

Howard was one body evacuating her entire family, forced to hunt the valuables buried in her beloved home between herself and her brothers and her parents. Scurrying around the house, reality struck Howard as she carried armfuls from different rooms to her dad’s truck.

“I got my dog, and I tried to get my cat, but she ran out when I was closing the door,” Howard says. “I ran after her for a while, but she jumped the fence into the neighbor's yard. We haven't seen her.”

While evacuating, adrenaline was Howard’s armor against the incredible weight she was carrying. Tentatively grieving her home, at mercy of the sprinting fire. Howard’s perseverance channeled the strength her parents fostered under their roof.

The slow evacuation gave Howard’s friendly neighbor a chance to spot her and demand she tag along with his family. Under his wing, Howard safely relocated three times, inching away from the ash flying beyond their neighborhood, eventually reaching a relative's home on Spirit Lake, Idaho. Spirit Lake hugged Howard to sleep, reminding her that she was safe, and she would be okay.

“I think what I’ve realized is that people want to help. Even strangers who don’t know me have reached out to me,” Howard says. “I have never felt so loved, yet so taken advantage of at the same time, because there are people trying to take stuff from our burnt houses.”

The Old Trails Fire burned over 600 structures. Homes caught up in flames before resting into ash. Beyond lost valuables, people lost emblems of their lives – but communities and families do not get erased after their possessions are burnt by fire. The massive despair of their loss illuminates a subtle victory in their strength and spirit, even as they continue to confront nightmares. Recovery is a long and demanding process.

“Passports, laptops, file cabinets...” were the only items retrieved while Howard was evacuating. Howard’s mother is a professor at Gonzaga, and Howard's father is an elementary school principal. Dr. Howard comments, “Although we have lost all our possessions and the comfort of our home, we are grateful for the outpouring of generosity and support from our Gonzaga community and the greater Spokane area. We have been the recipients of immense compassion and kindness.”

The Howard family

Howard has two younger brothers. Blake is a sophomore at Gonzaga studying biology, and James is a sophomore in high school.

Howard will be graduating this spring with an education degree in community, culture, and language, as well as psychology. This fall, she is studying abroad with Gonzaga in Florence. Her preparation was uncanny, but all her belongings burned a month before leaving the country for a semester. Thankful for the donations from her friends and the Spokane community, she is comfortably overseas now. After emerging from the flames of Washington state’s most destructive fire, no one has earned their passport stamps more than Morgan Howard.

Losing home is more than a challenge, it forces the family unit to ignite their spirit. Being a family of Zags, we already knew the Howards were tough. They are an undefeated team, an inspiration, allowing their misfortune to strengthen their familial bonds.