SPOKANE, Wash. — Fifteen days after the Old Trails Fire, Lindsay Christensen visited her parents’ home in the Rifle Club neighborhood for the first time to see what remained.
Among the rubble, she found a toy giraffe still standing.
“My sister was crying, and I hear Kevin [another family member] in the background go, ‘Hey, it’s the giraffe.’ And we all started laughing and we’re like, ‘The giraffe made it!'” Christensen said.
The toy giraffe has been a part of the family for decades. Christensen’s children had played on it, and she had plenty of photos of them using the toy.
“When people were over, it was always like the butt of every joke,” Christensen said.
Christensen had been on a vacation when she received a text from her mother about the evacuation. “Bad fire, had to evacuate,” the message said. She called her mother immediately to learn more about what was happening.
Her parents, Terri and Darryl Christensen, evacuated in one car, leaving their second vehicle in the garage. That green car burned in the fire.
“My son, when he was little, he used to call this car the turtle car because it was green. And he loved Ninja Turtles,” Christensen said, as she was seeing her childhood home in front of her.
Christensen says her parents are staying at a hotel, and plan to rebuild their home. Before that process begins, Christensen is on a mission to restore the giraffe.
“Seeing her all burnt up was sad. But also standing… was awesome. So hopefully she can be restored back to her former glory,” Christensen said.
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