Lightning may have caused a fire that razed an Alberta family’s dream home.
“It's total devastation,” Dean Fiveland told CTV Edmonton outside the charred remains of the house his family spent a decade building. “It went up in half an hour. Ten years gone.”
Located in the Town of Beaumont, just south of Edmonton, the house went up in flames during a thunderstorm on Thursday night. Nothing is left on their acreage but rubble.
“These are the type of scenes you see from war-torn countries,” Fiveland said.
“At least we’re all safe,” his wife, Cordalee Fiveland, added.
News of the Fivelands’ loss spread quickly through their community. A massage and yoga studio has set up a basket to receive donations for the family, such as gift cards, cash and toys for their children, ages 10 and 13.
“It hurts your heart, it makes you said,” said Bree Szirakim, who works at the studio. “There's not much we can do about the house getting damaged and the memories lost and everything, so we thought the least we could do is start some donations to help them get back on their feet.”
Cordalee said the family feels “blessed” by all the support.
The family believes their insurance will cover the fire damage and they plan to rebuild their home.
“The initial shock is over,” Dean Fiveland said. “We look at the situation and kind of shake our heads and move forward from there.”
With a report from CTV Edmonton’s Angela Jung
