Hi there,

My name is Ariel, and I'm setting up this GoFundMe to help my mom, Barb Edmonson, rebuild her ranch after losing most of it to the Pear Lake and 57 Creek Wildfires north of Clinton, BC.

On Saturday, July 25th, my mom risked her life to protect her property and livelihood at the point where the Pear Lake and 57 Creek Fires converged at the south edge of the ranch. BC WildFire offered no aid during this crisis. Despite working tirelessly for days to fireproof the main homestead area herself, the flames quickly took hold of one structure and then the next. Over half of her buildings have been turned to ash, as though they never existed. Had she left on evacuation order, she would have nothing to return to. Some of these losses include her cattle barn and this year's hay crop, her guest house, and the many irreplaceable historic buildings. She's also lost all of the fencing, shelters, and paddocks used to keep her horses and cattle.

Firefly Ranch is a historic property that was first established in 1896 and still had many of the original buildings. My mom worked hard to maintain and restore them; on top of that, she made many improvements to the ranch in terms of fencing, gates, and paddocks for her animals. All of this has been lost to the wildfire.

The fight still continues as the fire burns through underground peat moss. It's currently spreading across her hay fields, creating dangerous sink holes and destroying soil that will effect her hay crop for possibly years to come. My mom relies on these fields as her main source of income and to feed her animals.

Like many others who have been effected by these fires, we are uncertain what the next days, weeks, and months will look like. We are grateful for any support during this time. Donations will immediately go towards replacing fences, shelters, supplementing lost income, and feeding her horses and cows over the winter. Although the historical buildings are irreplaceable, we hope to eventually replace the cattle barn that was essential to daily operations.