Huntley family home burning down off Pryor Creek Road in the early hours of the morning. An electric fire started in the attic and spread rapidly through the densely-packed insulation, which made it impossible for emergency services to put it out in time. (Courtesy Photo by Holly Parks)
Emergency services were dispatched to a house fire off Pryor Creek Road early on the morning of July 23rd where a newly-remodeled home was engulfed in flames. Six inhabitants and two dogs were successfully evacuated, but the house was not able to be salvaged.
“I recall we called 911 at 4:15 in the morning or so,” stated Christopher Few, one of the residents of the family home, in an email to the Yellowstone County News, “and I believe the first responder on scene was there within 15 minutes. Just the one police officer waited there with us until the firefighters arrived, which was around 4:45 AM I believe.”
“Everybody but my brother-in-law, who was working, was in the house when the fire began,” added Few. “My mother was the one who woke up and noticed the fire glowing through the window and rushed me, my sister, and my nieces and nephew out of the house. We had to rush back in to retrieve the dogs as they went to hide under the bed in the master bedroom. After that, though, everyone made it out and waited outside safely.”
Officials say that there was an electrical fire in the attic that spread rapidly across the entire upper portion of the house. “There was too much thick insulation and no way to find an angle to get water on it,” said Few, “so much of the roof was burned down.”
The family had recently moved from California to Huntley, Montana, with dreams of owning their own farmhouse. Though the family had only resided there for less than a year, it was already beginning to be their home. “We’ve worked on the property in this short time, and had just gotten some chickens settled in as our humble beginnings, and it’s now basically been torched right in front of us,” commented Few. “According to my sister, the house has been remodeled twice, once in the 80’s and again very recently. Within the past year or two, she believes, but isn’t 100% sure.”
This disaster has left the six of them literally standing in the ashes of what were once their countryside dreams. “Our current plan is to get a trailer and stay in that on our property while we get our home rebuilt,” Few said. “We’ve been staying in hotels for the past few days while we try to find contractors for the home and funds for the trailer. We had homeowner insurance luckily, which will cover the cost of getting the home back to a livable state again, but our immediate situation is something we’re still working on figuring out.”
“We’ve loved it here, and even amid this chaos our neighbors and while our community has done much to show hospitality to us in our time of need, we’re still urgently in need of a solution to our biggest problems.” Few has created a fundraiser to help raise money to assist the family financially during this difficult time, the link to which can be found below. “All we could really ask for is sympathy and prayer through this rough time, and for those who are able, donations to the fundraiser or sharing it around. The hospitality from this community already has been astounding, and we’ve had people come together to help clear out our freezers or keep us clothed or fed.”
The family is incredibly grateful to the community. They still have a long road ahead of them. Donations can be made to assist them at the following link.
Donation Link – https://gf.me/u/yig36h
