Help my mother and partner after a tragic fire

Hi, my name is Chelsi and on Wednesday morning, September 29 2021, an electrical fire destroyed my mother and her partner’s business, Desert Curios in Yucca Valley. Just about every thing was destroyed. What’s worse is that their shop cat, Biscuits, hasn’t been found since the fire and they are going through debris inch by inch with the hopes that she got out safely. To say they are devastated would be an understatement.

The building they rent is very old and the fire inspector believes it might have been faulty electrical wiring at the breaker box. While these kind of things are usually covered by insurance, they share the lot with a relative of the landlord who seasonally sells firewood at the rear of the property, and because there is a wood pile on the lot of about 60 cords of wood that is taller than the building they rent, they weren’t able to obtain fire insurance because getting fire insurance was contingent on the wood being removed from the lot. My mom states the wood usually isnt there over the summer but this year, there was more wood than she has ever seen there. This has prevented them from ever being able to obtain coverage but after she discussed it with the person who sells the wood, my mom said he had offered to do it months ago so that the underwriter could insure them. No wood was ever moved. Relations with him and the landlord have soured.

For those of you who know my mom and Jeff or have been in their store, you know they are fun , kind , generous and love their community. The store is their love. They don’t take donations rather they find joy in going out and finding treasure to share with people. She says, “If YOU dont love what YOU share to sell, you wont be able to sell it.” As you know, the shop was filled with beautiful and weird things they love and knew others would as well. The art they sold usually had hung on their own walls alot of the time before they brought it to the store to be found, as my mom says, “to the arts next caregiver”. As much art as you saw on the walls, they had about three times that amount stored in the back and anyone who has ever shopped there knows they would bring out options from the back if they knew what you liked. It was the same with everything they collected for the store. They loved beautiful curious things, books, glassware, furniture, clothing, jewelery and music. I know Jeff loves connecting with people over music. They usually bought things that reminded them of being kids and they’d tell you up front, “with the store, we were trying to buy back our childhood - only better.” They really are two big kids who just want to share what they like with you. The store felt like walking into their house and they purposely made and that everyone would feel like a guest of honor. It was and is their life. You could feel the good energy when you walked in.

After the COVID shutdowns, this happened just when they were just getting back into their usual happy pace. COVID shutdowns were hard for everyone but especially for my mom and Jeff because it didnt just take income from them, I think it was the interactions she and Jeff really missed with all the people who came in regularly and not-so-regularly with whom they became friends. 2020 was hard on them in many ways but it doesnt compare to watching their livelihood get destroyed by a fire. They are devastated. She says they estimate they lost 150-200k in inventory of a one of a kind vintage collectibles, books, clothing, boots, magazines, toys , art and music in the store floor and stored in the back. I know what I’m trying to raise for them wont even come close to covering it all, not to mention the display cabinets and other electronics that burned up. But it is something that will help. They aren’t sure how quickly the building can get restored but if I know them, they’ll be wanting to do some of the work themselves so they can reopen sooner than later.

I know they wouldn’t do this and ask for themselves, so I am doing it for them. Because I love them. It’s a horrible tragedy in all ways. Even if you can’t help, thank you for taking time to read this and feel free to reach out to them. I know they are hurting.