'The only thing standing is the chimney'
Sep. 1—As a wildfire approached her Moscow Mountain rental home Monday, Ruth Garfield smelled smoke but was unsure of how close the danger truly was.
When she heard a helicopter overhead, Ruth said she went onto her back porch to see if she could catch a glimpse. It was then she saw the fire that would swallow the home roaring up the hill perhaps 30 yards away.
Ruth lived in the home with her husband, Paul, her parents, who are in their 90s, and two adult daughters, one of whom has special needs. The home is owned by Dale Miller, who lives in another home nearby. That home was spared by the flames.
After seeing the flames so close, Ruth warned her daughters and parents they should evacuate. While her father went to turn on the sprinkler in the hopes of protecting the house, she and one of her daughters were able to wrangle family and pets but little else into a pair of vehicles.
The family headed to the relative safety of Mountain View Park. Shortly after, they received news the home was fully engulfed in flames. It was the only home claimed by the Idler Fire, which was estimated to be about 150 acres Tuesday evening.
"We left with the clothes on our back (and) the shoes on our feet," she said. "We are just so, so thankful that we were able to get out."
Paul Garfield was at work at Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories when the home was destroyed. While he and Ruth are grateful their family is OK, he said it's difficult to articulate the loss they're feeling. He said irreplaceable memories, photographs and other keepsakes have been lost.
Still, Ruth said the support the family has received from the community has been incredible.
Moscow's Heather Walker, who goes to church with the Garfields, described them as "the most genuine, selfless, kind, easy-going, hard-working people." Tuesday morning, Walker started a fundraising effort on behalf of the Garfields on the crowdsourcing site GoFundMe and she said her in-laws, Monte and Sandy Walker, have opened their home to the Garfields so they have somewhere to stay.
"This is just devastating, for a family to lose everything — we cried this morning together. It's just overwhelming to even think about where to start and how to rebuild your life," Heather Walker said. "But one thing that I love about our community is we rally around families and people in these types of situations and do our best to build up."
Ruth said she and her family are thankful for the outpouring of support they've received from the community — particularly the Walkers. She and Paul said it's still difficult to know what happens next.
"We're going to stay again (Tuesday night) while we try to figure out what we're going to do next because the only thing standing is the chimney." Ruth said, noting the episode has been particularly difficult for her daughter with special needs. "Things are pretty upside down for her right now."
While they figure out what their renter's insurance will cover, the "Garfield's fire recovery fund" started by Heather Walker has enjoyed success in its first day.
As of Tuesday night, less than 12 hours after it was launched, the effort had already raised nearly $30,000 toward their $50,000 goal. When told the fund was nearing $20,000 earlier in the day, Ruth paused for a long moment. When she spoke again, her voice was thick.
"I'm really at a loss, the whole thing has been really overwhelming, and I know the full weight of everything hasn't really sunk in yet," she said. "I'm just in awe with gratitude for the generosity of the people of Moscow who donated to that fund. I'm just so thankful."
Those who wish to contribute can find the fundraiser through the shortened link bit.ly/3yD1zrP.
Jackson can be reached at sjackson@dnews.com.
