The ‘roaring inferno’ of the Sunset Fire took everything from some North Idaho residents

CAREYWOOD, Idaho – Linda and Walter Anderson arrived in North Idaho 45 years ago, practically homeless with the exception of a tent they pitched in the mountains of Careywood.

On Tuesday, the couple stood amid the wreckage of their 80-acre property and observed the devastation left by a fast-spreading Idaho wildfire that left them close to how they started – with no home.

“Just like we did in 1980,” she said.

Everything on the way up to their property on Sunset Road was scarred by fire. The smell of burnt metal lingered in the air, the trees were burned so black they resembled sticks. Parts of the Andersons’ home smoldered on the ground. The fire burned so hot the remains of aluminum materials from the home flowed down the hillside.

There was almost nothing left but a gazebo the couple had just built, a shed and their garden, which still had ripe tomatoes hanging off the vines. Walter believes the couple’s survival and the untouched vegetables were a signal, like angels were protecting them and spared the remaining outbuildings.

“Just by knowing those survived uplifted us,” Linda said.

Walter’s brother, Daniel Anderson, also lives with them on the property. Their cousin, Rick Kasten, lives directly above them with his girlfriend. Fire razed his house, too.

The group walked around the blackened property for an hour on Tuesday with a U.S. Forest Service firefighter who expressed his condolences for the loss of their homes. He remarked on how tragic it was to see this type of devastation in such a beautiful area.

“It didn’t really hit me until this morning,” Kasten said. “There’s been a lot of tears. I feel like I’m having an almost out-of-body experience.”

The Sunset fire, on the western slopes along Lake Pend Oreille, sits at more than 3,200 acres with 546 personnel assigned to fight it. As of Tuesday morning, the fire is at 0% containment with Level 3 “go now” evacuations still in effect for residents on Raven Road, Crosswhite Road, Little Blacktail Road, east of Sunset Road, USFS 630 off Blacktail Road, Butler Creek, Butler Creek Spur, from Mirror Lake, the Five Lakes Estates, Jupline Landing, the Ponderosa neighborhood and all of Talache Road.

The Andersons were able to return to their property since forest service crews were working nearby. At the time the fire started, Kasten was at a neighbor’s home, smelled smoke, called Daniel and told him they were going to manage the fire themselves.

“Grab a shovel,” he told him. “There’s a fire somewhere, I don’t know where.”

Kasten called everyone he knew in the area and told them to evacuate. Ten minutes later, he saw the fire double in size, he said. He stayed for as long as he could until more fire crews arrived and told him to leave.

It turned out the fire was 200 yards off the road below them and spreading rapidly. Daniel only had enough time to grab some of his wife’s belongings and Kasten’s wallet.

“By the time we came down just at the base of the big hill, I could see it. It was a roaring inferno with flames as tall as the trees,” Daniel said. “A great big red billowing (fire) surging in the wind.”

Walter, who was home at the time of the fire, called his wife to warn her not to come back. He turned to his home that he and his wife built from the ground up, ran inside, grabbed a computer and some clothes from the closet, and left. He tossed the belongings in their camp trailer, attached their tractor to the front and maneuvered down the hill.

Just three hours later, the family and neighbors found out they had lost everything.

“We are still processing it,” Walter said. “I try not to think about it, ’cause I’ll get affected too much.”

Walter, 75, just retired last month from a company that manufactured wheelchairs. Linda, 71, had a woodworking business in their garage and sold handmade birdhouses. Where her woodshop used to be is now a rubble pile of ash and charred tools. Neither are sure what’s next for them.

In the meantime, the family has support from the rest of their extended family that lives in Idaho. Linda and Walter are staying in their camp trailer on their family’s ranch. The destroyed property, Walter said, has no wildfire insurance because the company wouldn’t give it to him since he was outside of the main fire district.

“We will make it,” Linda said, as her family stood next to her. “It will just take a while.”

GoFundMe accounts have been established to help Walter and Linda Anderson, Daniel Anderson and his wife as well as Rick Kasten and his girlfriend.

“This is going to be rough for Walter and Linda as they start over,” the fundraiser for Walter and Linda says. “We’re still just trying to take care of the basics as we get them settled in here with family, but there will be some tough days ahead as we figure out the long-term situation.”