THUNDER BAY -- A Christmas calamity that struck a South Gillies family has mobilized the rural community to pitch in and help.
The power went out between the Sorrells opening their gifts and having breakfast on Dec. 25. Hydro employees told mother Wendy over the telephone it would be a matter of hours before it could be restored.
She drove down the road to her "almost" mother-in-law Rebecca Hede's to drop off the evening's turkey, then had a shower and the pair went back to pick up the rest of the Christmas dinner the Sorrells had hoped to host that evening.
"We got up to the driveway and saw flames in the kitchen window," Hede recalled.
"We got out and opened the porch door. The dog flew out. We tried to open the kitchen door, it was full of smoke so we had to close it right away. We left to call for help and the next thing we knew, the whole house was gone."
No humans were injured in the blaze. The family dog and two of the four cats escaped unscathed. A six-month-old kitten was taken to the veterinarian with severe burns and another cat is still unaccounted for.
When the Sorrells awoke at Hede's house on Boxing Day, a gofundme page had been erected for donations, which raised nearly $3,000 in its first 24 hours.
The family is living with Hede, making arrangements a little cramped but she said they're overwhelmed with the response of friends and neighbours.
"They lost everything. It's hard to tell. You can't replace pictures with money. You can't replace memorabilia," she said.
"It was unbelievable, the people, the stuff they'd bring, the money and donations for this family.They're wonderful people out here. They should all be very proud of themselves."
