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Family home burned to the ground

91ƵIt looked like a war zone there91Ƶ
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Cody, his dad Stan, and mother Darlene on the porch of their house which burned down in the Gustafsen fire.

91ƵWhen we were evacuated, the cops came to my house, and91Ƶ Sorry, this is so hard to talk about,91Ƶ says Cody Bandsma. 91ƵCops came to my house, and I grabbed everything I could. I grabbed picture frames, I grabbed albums. I really didn91Ƶt think it was going to go down, so I didn91Ƶt grab as much as I should91Ƶve,91Ƶ said Cody, whose house in 105 Mile House burned down.

91ƵIt91Ƶs just all a crater. I don91Ƶt know really what to say, it just happened really fast,91Ƶ he says. Cody is currently staying in Kelowna and adds that they had an automotive mechanics shop by the house as well.

Cody91Ƶs dad Stan Bandsma was on holidays in the Shuswap at the time.

91ƵEvery time I go to think of, I91Ƶm gonna go home and grab that thing 91Ƶ it91Ƶs not there anymore. I was very well set up. I had 1st Stop Auto and it was all set up very nicely. I had every piece of equipment that I needed to do just about anything. I had everything really nice and neat, I91Ƶm very picky. It91Ƶs very devastating for me.91Ƶ

91ƵCody was at home, my son, and he said 91ƵWhat do you want me to do?91Ƶ So we gave him a list and he went through and took personal things like pictures and albums and stuff like that. He got the Mustang out of there, my show car, a 91Ƶ73 Mustang Fastback; he got that out of there and another car trailer and he got my Bobcat out of there.

91ƵHe was just working tirelessly until 10 o91Ƶclock that night. Just getting stuff out of there and he didn91Ƶt think of himself. He didn91Ƶt even take any of his own stuff, no clothes, nothing. No sentimental stuff of his own. He was amazing and he91Ƶs taking it very hard. It91Ƶs really rough on him. He was pretty much a one-year-old when we got there and we built everything.

91ƵEverything on that property we had built or rebuilt. There was nothing on that property when we got there. He did an amazing job.91Ƶ

The family found out their place had burned down through a picture on Facebook.

91ƵSomeone drove through in the night actually, and showed us a film of him driving through the driveway and it looked like a war zone there. And then someone put a picture in the morning and put it on Facebook at the end of the driveway pointing in and the only thing standing was the 1st Stop Auto Sign,91Ƶ he says. 91ƵTechnically, I shouldn91Ƶt even know my house is burned down.91Ƶ

According to Stan, their home is not the only one destroyed.

91ƵThere are other houses that are gone in that area too. I know that because I91Ƶve seen pictures, but I don91Ƶt want to say who they are.91Ƶ

Stan was overwhelmed with it all.

91ƵI91Ƶve lost my business, so I have no way to make an income. That was our total income that we had for our family. I have no way of making an income now and then everything else is gone too,91Ƶ he says. 91ƵWe91Ƶre just gonna hang out in Kelowna I guess; find a hotel or whatever.91Ƶ

Cody says when they can, they91Ƶll go back as a family.

91ƵWhenever we91Ƶre we91Ƶre allowed in there, we91Ƶre gonna go as a family and we91Ƶre gonna try and see what we can recover.91Ƶ

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The back of the house with part of the shop visible
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The view from the driveway. The only thing that appears to remain is the 1st Stop Auto sign. Submitted photos
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The 91Ƶ73 Ford Mustang Fastback that Cody managed to save on the lawn in front of their house.




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