In the early morning of August 20th, my mother's house in Bonny Doon, California burned to the ground in the CZU Lightning Complex Fire.   She is devastated, to lose every possession, nearly every picture, things that can never be replaced.   What was once a beautiful 2,700+ square foot home has now been reduced to this:



Tragically, the house itself is one of things that can never be replaced because of who built it.   When I was just in 5th grade my family moved to Bonny Doon, a rural community in the Santa Cruz Mountains in Northern California.  My father, Ronald Biggs, a Captain with what was then the Los Altos Fire Department, built our family home along side my great Uncle Bill Laughlin (a WW2 vet).  Together they helped frame the house, did the electrical and plumbing, etc.   

As the house was nearing completion, my father contracted a job related illness and in a few short months died at the age of 46 when I was  just 11 years old.   My father's  fire helmet with his last name on the back hung in the family room next to various fireman artifacts and antiques, his rifles were in a gun cabinet in the living room, his tools lined the walls of the garage, his old uniforms with his patches were in the closet.  In a very real sense, my father was part of that house.  Tragically, with the quick evacuation and speed of the fire, most pictures and family heirlooms were lost.  Thankfully I borrowed this picture below just a few months before the fire.  Its my dad reading the paper in the fire house, waiting for a call.  Its one of my favorites and we are blessed to still have this picture.


Having already lost so much, losing this beloved childhood home built by a man who was so loved, feels like the loss of my father all over again.  Thankfully, my mother is OK.  She left in the middle of the night after getting the evacuation call, arriving at our home in Los Altos at 2am.  Her world has been absolutely shattered and while she’s always been a very strong, independent woman, nobody should have to start over like this at the age of 83.

Which leads me to this fundraiser.  We have started the insurance process to rebuild the home but with over 900 homes burned in the CZU fire alone (and hundreds more burned throughout California), the cost to rebuild will be high, lumber is already sky high, and permits here in California are very expensive.  Assuming that the insurance company pays out every dollar for the cost to replace the home, at the prices we're being quoted from our contractor, plus permits, architecture, etc., I'm currently estimating a minimum funding gap of approximately $37,000.  If the insurance company doesn't fully pay the rebuild costs, the $37,000 gap could grow substantially. 

While rebuilding my mom and dad's home will not erase this horrible loss my mom has suffered, or the memories of my father which were present throughout the house, my highest hope and wish as a son is that in the next 2 years or so, I can hand my mother the keys to a beautiful, safe, fire resistant new home (with no stairs!) so that she can live out her remaining days in the beauty and peace of the Santa Cruz Mountains.  Thank you very much for you consideration, love and support during this very difficult time.

Jason and Gaylene Biggs

p.s.   Because I would like to pay this forward, if we hit the $37,000 goal, I will donate 5% of the Go Fund Me proceeds to the Bonny Doon Volunteer Fire Department to help defend this beautiful community and its residents from wildfire.

p.p.s.  At my mom's request, I have not posted a picture of her.