Bank fund, gift-card drop-off set up for Whitefish fire victims

The Daily Inter Lake

Friends of Ed and Liz Maul have rallied to help in the aftermath of a house fire that destroyed all of the Mauls' belongings, and have come up with a couple of ways people can help.

The Mauls are planning to rebuild at their home site on Haskill Basin Road near Whitefish and can use a variety of gift cards for building supplies or household goods and clothing, said Trini Carreon, co-owner of the Backdoor Kitchen Store in Whitefish.

Gift cards can be dropped off at the Kitchen Store, 131 Central Ave., from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday and from 11:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. Call Gwen Carreon at 862-6173.

Cash donations can be deposited into the Mauls' bank account at First Interstate Bank in Whitefish.

The Mauls lost their log home, garage, a vehicle and all of their belongings in a fire that began early Monday morning in the garage. They made a narrow escape with their dog.

They stayed with neighbors and later moved to a hotel until they could make arrangements to rent a home.

The couple are well-known in Whitefish, where Ed is a woodworker and Liz owns a sewing shop.

"Liz is very active in fundraising and very giving," Carreon said, noting that Liz and others recently spent a day making a quilt to be auctioned to raise money for breast-cancer research.