Fire displaces Tribal family; help sought

An early morning fire in Willamina on Saturday, Oct. 12, has left Tribal member Michael Bolton and his family with little more than their lives and the drive to start over.

Tami Tigner, a paramedic/firefighter with the West Valley Fire District, said the fire was reported at 1:41 a.m. with smoke and flames coming out of a second story window of the house in the 700 block of C Street in Willamina.

"It was in one bedroom and spread to another room," Tigner said.

West Valley Fire District personnel knocked down the flames, Tigner said, in a relatively short amount of time. A Yamhill County fire investigation team is investigating the cause, which is still underdetermined.

Faith Bolton, Michael's wife, told The Sheridan Sun that she heard a smoke alarm sounding and thought it was the alarm clock. At the time of the fire, Faith, Michael and their 2-year-old granddaughter were in the house.

Two other occupants were not home.

The three escaped the fire unharmed, but it took awhile for Michael to realize that his 19-year-old daughter was not home and safe.

"I thought she died," he told The Sheridan Sun.

The couple's 20-year-old daughter also was away when the fire occurred.

In addition, the family's cat and dog escaped unharmed, but the 2-year-old girl's goldfish died.

The Boltons were renting the house and did not have renter's insurance.

"We lost everything," Michael told The Sheridan Sun.

The fire also destroyed Faith's jewelry-making supplies and equipment and her computerized sewing machine.

However, jewelry from a recent show was still in the case and Faith was at Spirit Mountain Casino between Nov. 18-22 to sell her wares in an attempt to start over.

The American Red Cross provided the Bolton family with three nights lodging in a motel.

The Grand Ronde Tribe has agreed to be the contact for the Boltons. Call 800-422-0232 if you wish to help.

Michael Bolton has lived in Willamina for six years and launched two runs for Tribal Council.