Our mother Michelle, age 56, has lost everything she owned including her home in the sudden and explosive Mukluk fire in Tok, Alaska. She escaped only with her dog and a handful of documents. Her small home, made with lumber she and her five children milled themselves, unfortunately did not have house insurance.

Michelle is the epitome of a self-sufficient, rugged Alaskan woman. Despite having only half the use of her right arm due to extreme nerve damage from a car accident with a moose years before, it was her dream to own her own plot of land and home. In the summer of 2007 she began turning her dream into reality. She purchased an untouched wooded lot a few miles from the center of Tok.

We made a small clearing and she moved with us kids into a tent on the lot. The oldest of us was sixteen, the youngest was still a toddler. We spent the spring clearing the land with chainsaws. Bit by bit, it was coming together. We, as well as good friends and family began construction, and it soon became a home. Our home. We poured our blood, sweat, tears and love into this home.

Years passed and one by one we grew up and left home. None of us went very far. Moms place was our home base, we were always welcome. She was going to live the rest of her life in that house. We have family pets buried here.

She didn’t just lose the home, she lost all of her clothes, furniture, appliances, vehicles, and her cash emergency fund. She had just purchased her year's worth of firewood and that’s gone too. Not only that, she lost her tools, bed, blankets, and books. Worse than any of this, she lost her treasures. If you’re a mother reading this, you know, her biggest lament is her treasures. The little handmade gifts, the many drawings and paintings, the photographs, and heirlooms. She had a wall dedicated to the artwork of her children and grandchildren.

We grew up watching her work extremely hard. She has always been an inspiration to us all. An example of what it looks like to have true grit. There are many young people who also look to her, they hang out at her house like they’re another one of her kids. And she loves them like they are. She’s always been the one wanting to help others. Now it’s our turn to help her.

We’re going to rebuild her house next spring but it’s going to be an expensive endeavor and we can’t do it alone. We have experience and can build, but first, we need many things. We need the burnt debris removed, a new foundation poured as the old one is just crumbling from the heat, and we have to haul all the materials from the nearest town over two hundred miles away.

Our initial goal is to raise $35,000 to help mom replace necessities and begin rebuilding her home. Winter is right around the corner, snow will be falling in a month and she no longer has her coat, boots, or other cold winter gear. Coming out of the worst winter we've experienced in recorded history, we're all a bit concerned about the coming months and would like to make sure all bases are covered.