MILLS – Three of five members of an extended family living in a mobile home in this Casper suburb were still shaken Tuesday as they stood outside what remained of their home.
An early morning fire Monday destroyed more than half of their home. And fortunately no one was injured in the fire, their lives have changed radically.
Johanna Clark said her father, Ben Mason, along with his daughter, Lakadia Summers, 17, grandson Ridek Clark, 16, his sister and a niece lived there. Clark said her father bought the mobile home new 40 years ago and that he had been on the lot for the past 20 years.
“Now we are trying to find shelter, clothing, food, generators and plastic,” he said. “Let’s start again. The only thing that can be saved is the earth.”
Johanna said the family woke up and ate breakfast, and three people went to work while the teens got ready for their day. Everyone has a job.
“We think it started in the walls,” Summers said. “Early that morning…we smelled smoke, but we didn’t think about it.”
Teenager calls 911
While the older members of the household had already left for work, Summers and Ridek Clark were getting ready for their day around 10 a.m. when they saw flames.
Summers said there were boxes and other flammable items on a deck that caught fire. That fire ignited an exterior wall, which then spread throughout the house.
Summers called 911 while Ridek used his phone to notify family members.
“My dad was working in the mountains and he beat everyone here,” Johanna said.
But little could be done as the flames spread and the teenagers were evacuated.
Firefighters arrived from the Natrona County Fire District and the cities of Mills and Bar Nunn. According to a news release from the fire district, crews put out the exterior fire and then went inside.
“The fire attempted to spread through the attic space, driven by strong winds, but progress was stopped and the fire was extinguished,” the news release said.
Johanna said the bedrooms and the southern half area of the house were heavily damaged and the teens lost almost all of their possessions. Her father’s area suffered smoke damage.
Ridek said his grandfather had just completed remodeling projects in the home’s bathrooms.
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Help is needed
“The Red Cross is having a hard time finding funds for anything right now,” Johanna said. “I’ve been on the phone for the last two days. “It’s just difficult, it’s devastating.”
While a news release said the family is being provided hotel rooms, Johanna said there are no rooms available due to the National College Finals Rodeo and other events taking place in Casper.
On Monday night, Ridek went to a friend’s house, Summers and her aunt slept in an old RV next to the mobile home, and Johanna said her father slept in his truck.
Summers and Ridek, who were raised by Mason and his late wife, said it’s hard to imagine going anywhere else. Memories of his grandmother, Mason’s wife who died two years ago, remained strong in her home.
“When Grandma passed away, all we had was the house and the memories associated with it,” Summers said.
Ridek remembered all the work his grandfather did on the mobile home over the years.
“From the back porch to the front porch to the fences, my (grandfather) built it himself,” he said. “So, the biggest loss is his work. Now he has nothing to show because his roof collapsed.”
The insurance adjuster comes
Johanna said that an insurance adjuster will arrive in two or three days. Efforts to rescue items have been difficult.
“But they don’t want us in the home more than 15 to 20 minutes because of smoke inhalation and isolation everywhere,” he said. “That makes it difficult for them to get things that have survived.”
Natrona County Fire District Fire Chief Chris Codey determined that an electrical short from an extension cord was the cause of the fire. However, Johanna said an extension cord running from the mobile home to the small caravan was a $250 cable and was supposed to be adequate.
“They’re thinking it originally started in the wiring or it came from the outlet,” Johanna said.
Clark said he is looking for a fifth-wheel camper the family can purchase in the short term. There is currently no electricity, water or toilets on site.
People who want to donate clothing or other goods to help the family can call Johanna Clark for sizes and needs at 307-247-1804. She said that in addition to clothes, the family could wear shoes. Summers wears a women’s size 7 and Ridek wears a men’s size 9.
Summers said the next step is hard to imagine.
“If something happened somewhere else, we always had this to fall back on,” Summers said of her home. “I still feel like it didn’t happen, like I’m just going to wake up and it’s going to be a dream.”
Dale Killingbeck can be reached at dale@cowboystatedaily.com.
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