Couple who lost toddler son, unborn baby and ability to conceive naturally after being burned in horrific wildfire welcome daughter by surrogate four years on

A couple who lost their toddler son, unborn baby and the ability to conceive naturally after suffering horrific burns in a horrific bushfire have welcomed a daughter almost four years after the tragedy.

Jamie and Jacob Hyland died in 2020 in the Cold Spring wildfire in Okanogan County, Washington.

They were seriously injured and their one-year-old son Uriel was killed as they tried to flee the raging flames.

Their grief was compounded when Jamie, who was pregnant, was told that their unborn child had died. The worst was yet to come when she learned that the severity of her own burns, combined with a subsequent infection, meant she could no longer conceive naturally.

“To see the life disappear from my child’s eyes, it’s just not right,” Jacob Hyland said King5 through tears. “My son was everything.”

A couple who lost their toddler son, unborn baby and the ability to conceive naturally after suffering burns in a horrific bushfire have welcomed a daughter four years after the tragedy

Jamie and Jacob Hyland were caught in the Cold Spring wildfire in Okanogan County, Washington in 2020. They were seriously injured and their one-year-old son Uriel (photo) was killed

“I’m not just a woman hoping to one day be a mother, I’m a woman who experienced motherhood and then had it taken away,” Jamie added.

But recently their misery was tempered by the arrival of miracle baby Shiloh, who was born via a surrogate mother.

“There’s something about a child’s laughter that’s just healing,” the proud father added. ‘Before, I didn’t really know why we were alive. I had no clear direction. It’s much more joyful to have her around.”

Shiloh’s birth was the result of four attempts at surrogacy, with each failed pregnancy sending the couple back into the grieving process.

“Every time it failed, it was like my cup was already very empty,” Jacob said. ‘[It] it just felt like there were more holes in it.”

Shiloh was successfully implanted on her late brother’s birthday and was born in August 2023.

“When she was born, she went to my breast, latched on and started nursing,” Jamie said. “And I called Jacob and I was like, ‘She’s here!’ Just so happy.”

The Hylands were evacuating their property in a remote part of Okanogan around midnight on September 10 when they became trapped by the fire that began burning hours earlier.

Their grief was compounded when Jamie was told she could no longer have children naturally due to the severity of her injuries and a subsequent infection.

Jamie was left with burns over 50 percent of her body, while Jacob had 25 percent burns and a collapsed lung

The couple managed to flee their home in a pickup truck that was found burned out by Jacob’s cousin. Uri had tragically died before they could reach a hospital

The couple could not reach relatives and emergency services because the electricity cables were down.

After hours of no contact, Jacob’s cousin Jim Mabry decided to go to the remote Hyland property on Tuesday.

By then, the wildfire had turned the surrounding four-foot sage meadows into complete ash.

Mabry soon discovered Jacob’s truck in a ravine about a quarter mile away from their home.

The vehicle, which had crashed through a barbed wire fence, was badly charred. The windshield was melted and the steering wheel and dashboard were completely destroyed.

Incredibly, the couple managed to escape from the pickup truck with their son.

They headed towards the Columbia River, where they were miraculously found by rescuers along a bank, although Uriel had sadly passed away.

Jamie was left with burns over 50 percent of her body, while Jacob had 25 percent burns and a collapsed lung.

Their misery is tempered by the arrival of miracle baby Shiloh, who was born via a surrogate mother

The couple is raising money for another attempt at surrogacy using their last remaining embryo.

Their physical recovery has taken several years, while they describe their emotional recovery as a work in progress.

“There’s the pain of missing our son, that pan is always there all the way to heaven, but there’s the pain of being a parent without a child,” Jamie said.

Now the couple is raising money for another attempt at surrogacy using their last remaining embryo.

“For now, we’re just focusing on enjoying Shiloh, raising money for our next baby, and figuring out our steps in life in general,” they wrote on a GoFundMe.

“But hopefully everything will come together for our next baby in 2025.”