Artist’s RV, trailer destroyed in devastating fire on the way to Des Moines Arts Festival

By Kelby Wingert

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    VICKSBURG, Mississippi (KCCI) — A Mississippi artist experienced a devastating fire that destroyed her RV and trailer carrying many art pieces when she was on her way to the Des Moines Arts Festival.

H.C. Porter told KCCI she was leaving her home in Vicksburg, Mississippi, earlier on Wednesday. She had her RV and trailer packed full for her trip to Des Moines.

Because of the heat of the day, she had been running the RV’s generator and air conditioning unit, but before she hit the road, she turned both off.

Porter said she was about 10 miles from home when the smoke detector in the RV started blaring and the vehicle began filling with smoke. She pulled over on the highway, got out and grabbed the RV’s fire extinguisher and attempted to put the fire out herself, but it quickly got out of control. When she called 911, the dispatcher told her to get far away from the vehicle, and she had to watch the flames grow while waiting for the fire department to arrive.

By the time the fire crews got the blaze under control, the RV was a total loss, as was the trailer filled with the artwork Porter planned to showcase during the Des Moines Arts Festival and a brand-new laptop she hadn’t yet backed up.

Mississippi artist H.C. Porter’s RV and trailer filled with art were completely destroyed by a fire that started when she was on her way to the Des Moines Arts Festival. Porter has been a familiar face at the DMAF over the last 20 years.

“I have a long history with Des Moines,” she said. “I love going there.”

Porter says she has many art collectors in Iowa, including the Flying Mango restaurant in Des Moines.

While she is thankful to be uninjured and that the fire happened close to home and not further along in the journey, she’s disappointed she won’t make this year’s festival, which starts Friday.

“I’m completely saddened I can’t be in Des Moines for the show,” Porter said.

Porter said the whole “surreal nightmare” has left her “exhausted” and “shocked,” but that this is just a “temporary setback.” She still has her gallery in Vicksburg and said she does have insurance.

Her fans and friends from across the country and in Iowa have shown her “tremendous support” since the fire, she said.

Porter said she has been traveling to art shows across the U.S. for 35 years. Because she has her physical gallery in Mississippi, she usually only does six or seven shows a year now, but she always makes sure Des Moines is one of them.

“We’re very proud to be part of your show,” she said.

KCCI has also reached out to the Des Moines Arts Festival but has not yet heard back.

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