A family of three with ties to Boundary County lost their Cocolalla home and nearly all their belongings to fire Friday night. Though Buck Roop was forced to crawl out in nothing but his underwear and socks, none of the people in the home were injured, but the family lost their dogs, pet lizards and pet turtle, as well as all the memories and mementos gained in a home the family built itself.
The fire is believed to have been started in a wood stove in a corner of the home or in a connected shop adjacent to the wood stove. It spread so quickly Buck, daughter Tasha, 30, and son Zeke, 20, had no time to think of salvaging anything, and when day dawned, the house had been reduced to smoking rubble, with little left to be salvaged.
The family is related to Barbara and Jerry Roop of Naples, and Buck worked for a year at the Alta Mill before attending school to become a nurse. Though stricken with a degenerative condition that limits his mobility and function, he works as a nurse at Lakeside Assisted Living in Sandpoint. Tasha works and stayed at the home to help her father.
The family is staying with family until they can find once again a home of their own.
They are in immediate need of clothing and monetary donations. As space is at a premium with their current arrangement, they have no room for the dishes, household goods, furniture and other items they’ll soon need to reestablish their home.
Buck wears a 3XL tall shirts, 46-32 pants and size 13EE shoe. Zeke wears a size 20 -large shirt, 32-36 pants and size 13 shoe, and Tasha wears an extra large shirt, 36-32 pants and a size 10 men’s shoe.
Donations of cash and clothes can be dropped off Alta Mill, 242 Stagecoach Road, Naples, or at Lakeside Assisted Living, 624 S Division Ave, Sandpoint. Monetary donations can also be made online via GoFundMe.
For additional information, call (208) 818-6275.