BANCROFT, Idaho (KIFI) — The community of Bancroft is picking up the pieces after a fire swept through Main Street Friday, affecting two homes and damaging a nearby shed and apartment building.
Ellis and Elizabeth Call had just celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary weeks before, when the fire devastated the home. They say their “belongings, keepsakes, and all the comforts they built over five decades together,” were gone in an instant.
Ellis was taken to the hospital, where he was treated for burns to his left hand. On Saturday, Emma Stanger, the couple’s daughter, says Ellis underwent surgery for his injuries.
“He’s doing better, (but) he is in a lot of pain still,” Stanger told Local News 8. “It looks better each day.”
Their family has started a GoFundMe to help the couple rebuild. As of Monday afternoon, the fundraiser has raised nearly $8,000. For more information, click HERE.
The fire began in the Call’s yard, where Ellis had been burning some cardboard. He reportedly put the fire out and left the fire pit, but the high winds picked up the embers, re-igniting the blaze.
“Some ash just landed on the back porch,” said Stranger. “With the wind, it was so fast, It took only seconds to catch fire, and the house was gone within 15 to 30 minutes from the time it started.”
Video of the chaotic scene shows the fire engulfing the Call’s home, which Stranger says was a total loss.
Mrs. Koefed, whose historic home was damaged by the blaze, told Idaho Enterprise Caribou County the fire “felt even closer than it was…it was blowing big chunks of stuff.”
Both homes that were damaged were built by Ira Call, Stanger’s great-great-great-grandfather.
Of the Call’s home, all that remained was the central fireplace. Stanger said on the GoFundMe that the family is “taking it one day at a time” and waiting until they know it is safe before they return to the home and “start moving the ashes around.”
“We are very appreciative of all the love and support the community has provided,” Stanger told Local News 8. “We have a long road ahead. My parents have a temporary place to stay for the next 3 weeks…They will be able to start taking donations after they have a more permanent place to stay.”
