TYLER, Wash. — Three families lost their homes in the Columbia Basin Fire that burned southwest of Spokane on Friday. Now, the community is coming together to help them meet their needs.
Matt and Tina Achziger moved back home to Washington three months ago to live with their daughter and son-in-law. They packed all their belongings into their trailer. When the Columbia Basin fire raced through Tyler, Washington, it destroyed everything they owned.
"All the stuff left over is, well, was, our belongings," Matt said.
He was working when the fire started Friday afternoon. The couple is now living through an unimaginable reality. Pieces of his past are now gone.
"Something that's irreplaceable," Matt said as he pulled debris off his grandmother's China destroyed by the fire.
Reality begins to set in and the road ahead looks daunting.
"I need to feed our four dogs and Tina," Matt said. "And I don't know how we're going to afford all of Tina's meds because we need to replace all of those."
"All I could do was cry and that's all I can still do is cry," Tina said when she learned her home was lost in the fire.
When the couple returned from Colorado three months ago, they moved onto their son-in-law's, Jonathan Galpin, property.
"It's amazing to see how fast something can just poof," Galpin said.
He's experienced loss already this past year. Galpin's mother died last year after her battle with cancer. And now he's lost all tangible memories of her.
"It's difficult to stomach to think about all of my mom's stuff that was in here that I wanted, and she told me I could keep," Galpin said. "She wanted me to have some of her baby pictures and some of my baby pictures."
The family has hope. A friend is raising money to lift their spirits and provide for their needs.
To go to their GoFundMe page, click here to show support.