It’s difficult to tell from the outside.

Octopus arms – neither charred, nor melted – protectively reach down and around the walk-up window. The coral reef remains intact. So does the logo bearing the name of the food truck: Rawdeadfish.

Inside, however, the smell of smoke lingers. The service counter is warped and melted, its corners curling. Black soot covers the walls – most surfaces, really. Still, owner and sushi chef Travis Whiteside considers himself lucky. The two propane tanks on back of his food truck didn’t blow.

“It could’ve been much worse,” he said.

Ever since his popular sushi food truck suffered an electrical fire in mid-August, Whiteside has been waiting – to rebuild, to get back to work. While he sorts out insurance claims, one of his employees has started an online fundraiser to cover the cost of the deductibles and other expenses associated with coming back after the blaze.

Whiteside, 38, opened Rawdeadfish in April 2015 after a two-decade sushi career in Coeur d’Alene. Adriana, Janovich, SR

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