More than 100 friends, family members and well wishers attended a benefit fundraiser on Sept. 17 for the Mountain View County family who lost their rural mobile home in a wind-aided fire earlier in the month.Although family members are declining to say how much was raised, they said they were ìoverwhelmedî by the community support shown at the event, which was held at the Lone Pine Hall ñ located east of Didsbury off Hwy. 582 ñ from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.ìIt was wonderful. We were amazed by the support we had from the community. It was overwhelming to see how many people came out,î said Tanya Rylance, whose home was destroyed on Sept. 2.ìI really don't want to say how much was raised except to say it was a very nice donation from family, friends and the community.îAlong with cash, the family received many gift cards to purchase items at various stores.Meanwhile, the family is waiting for a call from the county on when their permit will be ready to move their new mobile home onto their property, located 20 kilometres east of Didsbury near the intersection of Hwy. 582 and Hwy. 791.ìWe have finished the cleanup. We are getting the electrical straightened out,î said Tanya. ìThere is a little bit of prep work to do before we get the new modular there.îThe original rural mobile home of the Rylance family caught fire just after 1 p.m. on Sept. 2.Firefighters from four municipalities were called and immediately converged on the residence. When they arrived shortly before 1:30 p.m. smoke was billowing out from the home, a newer style mobile home built in 2001.High winds aided the blaze and it was too late to save the home, said fire officials.It took firefighters about 40 minutes to control the fire. There were no injuries to any of the firefighters. A total of 21 firefighters from Didsbury, Carstairs, Olds and Linden battled the blaze.Meanwhile, Tanya and her husband Jim had just arrived home with one of their two young sons when they first noticed the smoke pouring out of their home. They watched helplessly as their new home was overtaken by the blaze.Earlier this month the Didsbury Fire Department said the exact cause of the blaze has still not been pinpointed but the fire department and investigators are saying it was ìelectrical related.îThe estimated value of total damage to the home and its contents is about $250,000.
