As the Siskiyou fire hurtled toward homes in south Ashland this September, Katrin Mosby stepped into action.

The Community Emergency Response Team volunteer helped calm evacuees at a temporary shelter at First Baptist Church and, on a break, picked up a friend's daughter from Ashland High School to reunite her with her mother, whose home was near the blaze.

"The fire was right behind my house and she immediately was calling and checking on me," said Julie Starrett, Mosby's best friend. "I was separated from my daughter, but I knew I could count on her to get Tracy home to me. And she did."

On Friday, friends and family members remembered stories such as these about Katrin Carla Mosby, who they called KC.

Mosby was killed in a crash at 3:16 p.m. Thursday, when her car struck a semi-trailer on an icy road north of Klamath Falls. She was 39.

Friends and family members described Mosby, who lived on a ranch just outside of Ashland with her husband, Dave, as someone passionate about emergency preparedness and helping others.

She was a member of Rivergate church for the past 12 years and taught herself to play bass for the worship band. She was also a serious "do-it-yourselfer": moving boulders on her ranch, building horse stalls and remodeling her bathroom single-handedly, Starrett said.

"She had her own power tools and she was always building things and fixing things," she said.

What few people who interacted with her knew, however, was that Mosby suffered from chronic pain, due to degenerative disc disease. While she was serving in the United States Air Force, she guarded nuclear weapons and was exposed to uranium, causing the discs in her spine to degrade, Starrett said.

"She was in chronic pain, but she never let it get in the way of helping other people," she said.

Last spring, Mosby completed Ashland Fire & Rescue's CERT program, and opted to serve as one of 10 area coordinators in Ashland, said Lucy Edwards, CERT coordinator.

"She was an incredibly valued member of our team," she said. "We are just deeply saddened by this news."

Mosby was born in Medford, but spent most of her childhood in Roseburg and Phoenix, graduating from Phoenix High School, said her mother, Becky Chriss who still lives in Phoenix with her husband and Mosby's father, Gary.

"She was an incredible person, very positive and upbeat," Chriss said. "This is just an absolute tragedy, an unbelievable tragedy."

After leaving the Air Force, Mosby graduated from Northwest University in Kirkland, Wash. with a degree in behavioral science.

Soon after, she moved to Southern Oregon. About three years ago, she married her husband in a Celtic-inspired ceremony at Rivergate, Starrett said.

Thursday's crash occurred on Highway 97, 32 miles north of Klamath Falls, near where Mosby owned a buffalo ranch with her husband.

Mosby spent her last night at a CERT monthly meeting, preparing to help Ashland residents through future disasters, Edwards said.

"We saw her Wednesday night at our meeting," she said. "She was a key, active, amazingly wonderful volunteer."

Details regarding a memorial service for Mosby are pending.

Contact staff writer Hannah Guzik at 482-3456 ext. 226 or hguzik@dailytidings.com.