PORT ANGELES — Donations are needed for a woman burned out of the Port Angeles house that was her home for 41 years.
Carol Sanford’s two-story wooden home at 21 Whispering Firs Road off Lower Elwha Road west of Port Angeles burned to the ground Thursday evening in a fire so hot it spread to nearby trees, seared the grass of a lawn across the street and threatened the next-door neighbor’s home.
No one was injured in the blaze, said Assistant Chief Mike DeRousie.
But Sanford is homeless at 71.
She, her fiance and a renter who lived downstairs all lost everything.
While her mother, who lives on Social Security, temporarily stays in motels provided by the American Red Cross Olympic Peninsula Chapter, Cheri Sanford, 50, of Port Angeles is attempting to help her replace some of life’s necessities.
“Think about it: Every single thing you take for granted every day is gone,” Cheri said.
Carol lost all of her family photographs, 100-year-old clocks given to her by her father and jewelry from her mother and grandmother.
“She’s trying to stay strong for now,” Cheri said, “trying to keep a sense of humor.”
Cheri posted notes in Haggen Food and Pharmacy and Safeway asking for food gift cards and is requesting donations of used clothing, kitchenware and bedding, as well as gift cards for Walmart, J.C. Penney and other stores because “typically sizes fit her oddly.”
What is needed
Carol wears size 20-22 slacks and size 2X shirts.
She likes colorful socks, clip-on earrings, sandals and Crocs — size 11 — and wears black and brown eyeliner, purple lipstick and light to medium powder.
Her fiance needs an electric shaver and clothing, Cheri said.
They need bedding and lack everything used in a kitchen — from pots and pans, dishes, glasses and silverware to a coffee pot, toaster and blender.
“In the long run, she’ll need a houseful of things,” Cheri said.
“We’re not collecting furniture yet because we don’t have a storage unit, so if someone wants to donate a storage unit, we could begin collecting.”
Carol’s insurance company will help her get into an apartment, Cheri said.
Eventually, her mother wants to rebuild on the same spot that burned.
Wonderful response
“So far, the response has been wonderful,” Cheri said.
Among the donations have been a $100 gift card for Walmart and a $10 gift certificate to 31 Flavors.
Electric Beach donated a wig. Carol is hairless from a medical condition, her daughter said.
“She felt really naked without that,” Cheri said.
“She got a little makeup also and feels a little better today.”
To reach Cheri Sanford, phone 360-808-9481.
A neighbor of Carol’s also is collecting donations.
Sofia Maldonado, who lived near Carol Sanford for five years, said she and others are collecting such items as clothes, blankets, shampoo and other toiletries.
Red Cross
They plan to give them to the Red Cross to give to her.
“Her whole house is gone,” Maldonado said Friday.
To reach Maldonado, phone 360-640-2271.
Also, a GoFundMe site was created Saturday aiming to raise $1,000 for Carol Sanford.
It was created by Kelsi Millet, a granddaughter.
“Thank you all for helping my Grandma in this time of need,” Millet says on the GoFundMe website.
Click on http://tinyurl.com/carolsanford to donate.
As of 3 p.m. Saturday, the website had raised $100 from two donors.
Fire’s cause unknown
The cause of the fire, which began upstairs, is unknown, DeRousie said, adding that the department will assist insurance inspectors in determining what started the blaze.
“It’s not suspicious,” he said.
Upon arrival at 4:56 p.m. Thursday, Clallam County Fire District No. 2 firefighters found the single-family home engulfed in flames, spewing intense heat that was igniting nearby trees and other vegetation, and threatening the next-door neighbor’s home and vehicle, DeRousie said.
“It was so hot that across the street, it caught the neighbor’s lawn on fire,” he said.
When firefighters arrived, “the neighbor’s house was starting to get dark on the side with the neighbor using a hose trying to keep it cool” and when three neighbors towed Carol Sanford’s vehicle out of harm’s way, “it was so hot it melted the tow strap,” DeRousie said.
The homeowner discovered the fire while on the phone at her computer and tried to put it out with water, he added.
But the flames grew so large that she left the house and yelled for help. Neighbors called 9-1-1.
‘Could have been real bad’
Whispering Firs Road is in a wooded area with homes on both sides of the road, and the burned home was in a cul-de-sac, DeRousie said.
“It could have been real bad,” he said.
When firefighters found the house engulfed in flames, “our main concern was to protect the neighbor’s house and not having a forest fire,” DeRousie said.
Using large-diameter hose lines and a deck gun, firefighters cooled down the neighbor’s home, saving it and the vehicle from the fire and stopping the spread of a wildfire.
Firefighters “dumped a lot of water out there fast, over 15,000 gallons of water,” using a fire hydrant and three 3,000-gallon water tenders — one borrowed from the Joyce Fire District, DeRousie said.
The fire was extinguished by about 6:30 p.m.
Mopping up took longer, and firefighters left a tender overnight with a crew of two.
A small outbreak at about 5:30 a.m. Friday was put out, and water sprinklers were set up to keep the area wet.
“It was so dry out there, we’re very fortunate that we haven’t had more fires in this area,” DeRousie said.
“Everyone’s doing a good job about being careful.”
________
Executive Editor Leah Leach can be reached at 360-417-3531 or at leah.leach@peninsuladailynews.com.
