The only thing left standing in Cory Young’s home, after the Bald Range fire burned through her community, was her fireplace. And now that’s gone too. Equipment was used last week to push the fireplace to the ground, so cleanup can begin. “It just looks like rubble to me,” said Young as she surveyed the ash and charred remnants of her house. The losses for Young, a mother of three, didn’t stop at her home. The fire also burned her reupholstery business, which was attached to the house. “All the tools, my sewing machines, everything (was destroyed). Everything the kids had, everything in our rooms,” she explained. More than 100 dwellings were destroyed in the Faulder area Aug. 7, when the fast-moving wildfire roared through. Locals estimate about 30 per cent of the homeowners did not have insurance. Young is one of them. “How would I summarize not having insurance? A lesson learned that I will not do again,” she said. But she also explained that people have stepped up to help her, including strangers, like the woman who overheard her story at a bakery. “She said, ‘This is everything I have in my wallet. I wish I had more for you.’ I just gave her a big hug. That’s all I could do. The kindness of people has been amazing, but it’s not easy,” said an emotional Young, as she fought back tears. She said right now she is focused on rebuilding a life for her and her children. “I have no choice to just keep going forward. I can’t go backwards,” Young explained, although she admitted dealing with the losses has been an emotional rollercoaster. Despite the uncertainty, she hangs onto the hope that something good will come from what’s happened. Now temporarily living in Kamloops, she has already begun to rebuild her business. However, she said she won’t return to live in Faulder, a place she’s called home since childhood. Despite this, she said the people and surrounding hills that she would climb, will hold a special place in her heart. “I used to go out in these hills and hike every morning ... Can’t do that now, and I’ll miss it,” said a tearful Young.
