Imagine you are a delivery driver, as a matter of fact, you and your wife are drivers and both work miles away from home. It’s Thursday about 12:10 in the afternoon and everything is going as routine, just like it has most days for years, until you get that call. Yes, the call no one expects and is one of your worst nightmares, “this is 911, Kelly, are you at home? There is a report that your house is on fire.” If that wasn’t bad enough, both you and your wife deliver out of town and are both over an hour from your house. You call your wife to give her the startling news and the first words from her mouth, “Did the dogs get out, are they all OK?” “I don’t know sweetheart, I just don’t know?”

Hello, I’m Chris and this is how May 1, 2025 dramatically changed the lives of my good friends and longtime co-workers, Kelly “Scooter” and Kelly “K2” Pederson. To the heartbreak of Scooter, K2 and all who know them, not only was their home a total loss, but they lost 3 best friends and treasured companions, Luna, Lyric and Merrah, their family dogs, all 3 were killed in the fire. And, all they had left of households positions, when the smoke settled, was the clothes on their backs.

“The only thing you can hold onto is the love and generosity we have received,” says K2. Despite such great loss, the Pederson's feel very fortunate because of all the community support they have received. “Our deepest thanks go out to the local Fire Department, Red Cross, Humane Society, our Veterinarian, Bob Wards and the good friends we have met working in the Ronan and Superior areas,” says Scooter and K2.

The Pederson's are not ones to ask for anything. Like most of us true Montanans, they are self-reliant and somewhat proud of that fact. But even though they have insurance, the 9 to 12 months it is going to take to rebuild their home will put a huge strain on them financially. Fortunately, for now, they are able to live in their camper while the slow, tedious process of going thru the ruble to catalog all that was lost continues. In October, they will have to rent an apartment thru the winter months, because the camper won't be able to sustain them in the cold, Montana months. In Missoula Montana that's about $1200 to $1500 a month. Insurance will only get them thru about 3 months.

Unless you have been through this kind of catastrophe, you can’t imagine how much time and money it takes being displaced from your home for up to 12 months. That is why you are reading this story today.

Please, out of the kindness of your heart, help us raise enough money to continue to replace everything that was lost and give them the finances to rent an apartment for up to 6 months while construction of their home continues.

Help us give this story a much happier ending than how it began!

Thank you for your support