Fire levels home of family

A home off of Foothill Road was gutted by fire Tuesday night, killing pets and destroying a family’s belongings.

“There is nothing left,” said Michael Shelley, who lived in the rental home with his wife, her disabled sister and three children— plus three other children on a part-time basis. No one was at the home when the fire started.

Creston Fire Chief Gary Mahugh said firefighters were dispatched to Peters Creek Way, just off Foothill Road, at 6:30 p.m.

“Upon our arrival just a few minutes later, it was fully involved,” Mahugh said, noting that the older mobile home with additions was situated in an area where it could not be seen from Foothill Road.

He said it probably had been burning for a while before the fire was reported.

About two dozen firefighters controlled the fire within half an hour and managed to save a camper trailer that was near the home, but they did not leave the scene until about 10:30 p.m. because “there was a lot of mop-up to do,” Mahugh said.

The cause of the fire is under investigation. “Due to the total destruction of the residence it will be very difficult to determine the actual cause,” he said.

Shelley said the fire appeared to have burned the hottest in a dining room area where there were no heaters or other obvious sources to start the fire.

“It’s baffled my landlord and me,” he said.

Shelley said six puppies and their mother perished in the fire, along with a goat and a kid that were kept just outside the house.

A German shepherd that was kept just outside the house managed to break its tether to escape the fire.

Shelley said the Red Cross put his family up for three nights at a local hotel and provided a $1,000 debit card to purchase clothes and other immediate necessities.

Friends have offered alternative homes for the family to stay in, he said, and his  landlord is building a home on another property that he hopes to move into once it is complete.

“As far as clothes go, we’re doing pretty good” because of offers from friends, he said. 

But eventually the family will need to acquire furniture, cooking utensils and other day-to-day household items.

Tax-deductible donations for the Shelley family should go to Christ’s Fellowship, 23 Virtue Way, Columbia Falls, MT 59912.

Reporter Jim Mann may be reached at 758-4407 or by e-mail at jmann@dailyinterlake.com.