There is a squirrel in my fireplace

We own this little cabin that is up on the mountain.

It is very private and we try to get there as often as possible.

There isn’t any formal heating or air conditioning in the cabin. We were lucky to be able to put in a bathroom. Because of where our cabin is, we don’t worry much about air conditioning. We are well protected by the huge old trees and there is a small breeze that blows through the trees. I laugh at my husband when we go up there, because he is still a city dweller. He is always looking for wild animals to jump out at him, and bears scare the daylights out of him. I tried to tell him that there are no grizzlies in this part of the country, but he still has to make his way into the cabin, first. My husband filled up his arms and did his mad dash into the house, and I heard him screaming as he ran back out. He stuttered out that there was a squirrel in the house and it ran into the fireplace. I didn’t know if I wanted to laugh or worry about the damage the squirrels could have done to the inside of the house. I calmed him down and I walked into the cabin first. Everything looked really good, and I didn’t see anything inside the fireplace. I thought to put my head inside, but I was afraid that I would be looking eye to eye with a squirrel. I put the cover in front of the fireplace and I was going to light the fire. I thought that if there was a squirrel in the fireplace, the smell of the smoke would have him scurrying up the chimney.
HVAC provider