Kyle Noble was celebrating her 50th birthday in Northern California wine country when a wildfire incinerated her home and every memento of her life.

In a reminder of the fickle nature of such blazes, the home of her sister Kelly Stuckey was spared -- after its fate was entrusted to the ashes of a dead husband.

"When I walked out of my house, the last thing I did was look at my husband's ashes and say 'Honey, it's up to you to take care of our house," Stuckey told AFP as she and her sister took shelter in an evacuee center in the Wine Country town of Calistoga.

"There is a 'V' on the map where homes did not burn, and my house is in it."

A chicken coop behind the house burned, but she got word on Monday that the chickens somehow survived and were darting about the back yard of her home in a community in an area known as Cobb.

Crews handling calls for help from people had scant time to rescue animals, but they did open coops, corral gates, cages or other enclosures to free creatures to escape if they could.

"When it started, they were in life-saving mode and told people not to worry about houses, property or animals," recalled Verla Gomes, who was among the evacuees.

"People were upset about animals."

- Lives in ashes -

Noble was in Calistoga for a pre-arranged 50th birthday celebration when the fire raced toward her home and evacuation calls went out.

She joined lady friends at a house on a vineyard with a view of Mount St. Helena, drank margaritas and watch the glow of the fire behind the mountain.

"We found some joy in the evening, but it was not as happy an evening as we had hoped," Noble said.

"We haven't lost any loved ones; we still have each other. I am not going to have a breakdown over material things, but I am sick inside over my little kitties."

She fed her cats on the porch of her home before leaving. Facebook posts by workers who stayed behind at a local water company to fill tanks needed to supply fire hydrants showed that Noble's street was a total loss.

Many worried about their homes turned to Facebook, Twitter and YouTube for pictures, video and information.

"I am in shock; I can't believe we have to start over," said Noble, who has two young sons.

"We didn't have much, and we are starting back with nothing."

The things she will miss most were those holding irreplacable memories, like a Teddy bear from her father's boyhood, and family photos.

"Every photo I ever had of my children is gone," Noble said. "I am going to be asking friends and family to send me any pictures they have to re-create our life."

- Looting fear -

Local officials on Monday told evacuees at that it was likely to be a while before they could get back into the burn zones to check on their homes, or what is left of them.

"Our fear now is looting," Gomes said as she looked out across a tent village set up on the fairgrounds.

"My house is standing, but who is breaking into my home and taking everything I have?"

Lake County Sheriff Brian Martin said some people had been caught stealing property from evacuated homes and deputies are patrolling for looters.

Gomes felt fortunate that her home was spared. And owners of Hall winery in St. Helena, where she works, offered to supply employees with food and stays at nice hotels.

One of her co-workers defended his home with water from a hose, saving the house while neighbors lost theirs, she said.

Even some of the firefighters battling the blazes lost their own homes to the fierce, fast conflagration.

"In all honesty, I haven't had time to think about the house," said Robert Taylor, a 24-year-old firefighter whose own home was destroyed.

"I am still in the help-others mode. If I can prevent this happening to other people then I will. I am still in structure defense. I'm afraid that if I slowed down and thought about the loss, it would eat me up."