Heartfelt thanks to all who helped with fire

We recently had a devastating fire at our old beloved wood shop at Sleep’s Cabins on Lakeshore Drive. We are astounded at the number of people who responded in our time of need. With heartfelt thanks we would like to recognize some of them.

Our very first responders were Jimmy Lockwood, who happened to be driving by (he is also Brent‘s cousin!) and our dear friend and neighbor Chris Thompson, who both fought so bravely to help move vehicles, spray down surrounding trees and save our nearby house. They were aided in this effort by neighbors Dan and Eric Evans and Clem Hackworthy.

Professional first responders were:

Selkirk Fire: Incident Captain Jeff Littlefield. His crew’s quick response enabled us to save our home, some priceless family mementos, old family and early Sandpoint photos. Jeff was patient and compassionate and returned the next day to check on us!

Chief Gavin Gillcreast who turned several different agencies into one team in minutes.
To the entire Selkirk fire crew, your teamwork and work ethic was inspirational!

Northside Fire: Their crew arrived quickly from a long way and pitched in wholeheartedly.
Idaho Department of Lands: Wildfire crew who fanned out in the woods surrounding our neighborhood to look for sparks.

Bonner County Sheriff Department: Deputy Tom Cimbalik who helped with traffic and was thoughtful and kind while taking reports.

Southside Water and Sewer: Maintenance Director Brad White and Assistant Jason Barnhart to monitor the district well to make sure firefighters had what they needed.

Avista: New Construction Coordinator Don Peterson and Serviceman Chris Gavin and crew who worked to restore our power after hours. They all went above and beyond.

Badger Building Supply: Lee Badger, Jason Mikelson and staff for their kind offer to help in any way they can.

Sleep and Son Building Cont.: long-time crew Brandon Sleep, Chris Powers and Dan Burghdorf for pitching in without complaint to sift through the ruins looking for treasures and cleaning up the extremely dangerous and dirty site.

Special thanks to the mother and her young son, who didn’t even know us, but who saw the fire from the bridge and brought me a candy bar because he thought we might be sad. (His own idea!)

All our family and friends who reached out to us with comfort and friendship. We realize anyone who spent time in Grandpa‘s shop will miss it and our thoughts are with you also.

Finally, after seeing the different agencies, neighbors, friends, family and strangers all helping us with this tragedy was very humbling and we feel we have gained more than we lost.

We love and thank you all,

BRENT and TAWNIE SLEEP

Sagle

Sleeps Cabins

Sleep and Son Building Contractors