Fire victim Snyder returns to Flathead

The Daily Inter Lake

"Scarecrow" Sue Snyder is back in the valley, recovering from injuries she suffered in a Thanksgiving fire at her Somers home.

Snyder returned to the Flathead on Friday after being released from the Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, according to her friend, Al Johnson, of Somers.

"Her grafts are doing fine," Johnson said. "She's home; she's walking around with oxygen. She's doing pretty darned good."

Snyder is staying with a friend in Kalispell for now. Her home, the former Methodist church in Somers, was severely damaged by the fire.

Snyder, in her mid-40s, suffered burns in the fire.

Somers Fire Chief Bob Kienas has said the cause of the fire was accidental and originated in the kitchen while Snyder and a friend dozed in another room.

Snyder is a well-known artist in Somers who is nicknamed after the whimsical scarecrows she builds out of mostly recycled materials.

She has a large network of friends who have been concerned about her. They swamped the Seattle hospital with calls and inquiries.

Some of Snyder's supporters have discussed some kind of fund-raiser to help rebuild her home.

For now, she is convalescing under the care of a friend.