The Hill family had decided to stay up later on Sunday night. School was out Monday for President’s Day, they had cooked a snack and had set up a tent for the youngest family member.

“I made a little tent in the front room, because I had my grandson … I was looking towards the kitchen … and these flames are just flying, like they were huge, they were just so aggressive, and they're going over the stove,” Stefanie Hill said of waking up to the 2 a.m. fire in their Park View Village Apartment on West Seventh and North Absaroka Street where she and her son Chance live.

Her daughter Karma lives in the apartment below them with her son Lakota, who are also currently displaced due to water damage to the ceiling.

The Hills have lived in the building for just under five years.

Karma went into her apartment to grab her TV and other items. It was sad, she said. 

Chance who was awake on the phone, saw the flames first and had suggested finding water to throw on the fire, but they couldn’t because of saved grease on the stove that she keeps on hand for frying, Stefanie said.

“We just packed the baby up and just started running. I wanted to get everybody in the apartment building that was beside us. I wanted to make sure everybody got up … it was just so fast,” she said. 

Stefanie acknowledged the fire department’s response, “for as fast as [the fire was spreading] I think they did pretty good,” she said adding that she expected more apartments to be damaged.

The Powell Volunteer Fire Department responded to the kitchen fire at 2:02 a.m. and were there for just over two hours, Fire Chief Dustin Dicks said. 

The Hills lost most of their belongings in the fire, and are unable to go into the apartment due to safety concerns. 

“We’re just lucky to be alive,” Stefanie said. “If we would have waited a couple more minutes, none of us would have made it through that.”

Thanks to community support the Hills have been provided with clothing and food for a few days and have motel room paid through Friday. The community has been great, Stefanie said, and they have been receiving help from Park County School District 1 as well as a family friend who has been assisting them with relocating and gathering funds for housing. Right now, they need to be able to stay at their motel while they try to find housing.

Those who would like to assist the family can visit Stefanie Hill’s post on Powell Valley Exchange or call her at 307-254-4833.

A GoFundMe link can also be found at https://www.gofundme.com/f/ts5ba-rebuild-our-lives-after-devastating-fire.