ATHOL, Idaho — The North Idaho community is rallying around victims of the Sunset Fire with donations and fundraisers as the wildfire continues to burn over 3,000 acres near Lake Pend Oreille.
Rick Kasten and Isabel DaSilva lost everything when the wildfire destroyed the home Kasten helped build 45 years ago, along with their cars and all their possessions. The couple had lived together in the house north of Athol for the past 14 years.
“It’s like losing a part of your soul. That place, my time there, was a part of me,” Kasten said.
The Sunset Fire is the biggest wildfire in the region so far this summer. Level 3 (GO NOW), Level 2 (GET SET) and Level 1 (GET READY) evacuation orders remain in place near the fire area. Click here for the most up-to-date evacuation orders.
RELATED COVERAGE: Wildfire near Athol prompts closures in parts of Idaho Panhandle National Forest
For Kasten, who turns 66 this year, the loss has upended his retirement plans.
“I thought I was winding down so that I could just take some time and not work so hard,” Kasten said.
DaSilva, known as Miss Isabel at the Northern Dance Academy where she has worked for eight years, has received an outpouring of support from the dance community and beyond.
When the academy’s owners learned she lost her home, they organized a fundraiser and helped collect donations.
The response has extended far beyond people the couple knows personally.
“It goes beyond the people whose names I know and whose dancers I love. There’s been an outpouring from friends of friends and friends of strangers,” DaSilva said.
So far, more than $8,000 has been raised for the couple. Community members have also donated blankets, clothes and boxes of food – so much that Kasten and DaSilva have filled both of their cars with donations.
“It’s very overwhelming and to know that people don’t do it for recognition. They don’t expect anything for what they’re giving,” DaSilva said.
The couple is currently staying with family as they figure out their next steps. They remain uncertain whether they will rebuild on the property where Kasten’s family lived for decades.
“We thank every single one of you for the ways you have embraced us and we have a long, long journey ahead of us,” DaSilva said.
For more information and to support Rick and Isabel, click HERE.
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