Idaho Amish Family Devastated After Fire Destroys $1.2 Million Market (Update: Owners Were Burning Material Near The Store)
Since 2012, there has been a small Amish community in Lemhi County, Idaho – one of the westernmost Amish locations, and the Gem State’s only Amish presence.
This community has perhaps been best known by its Baker Country Market, owned and run by the Paul Miller family. The market has gotten media attention on several occasions, and for over a decade has been a popular destination for locals.
Sadly, the market caught fire on Saturday night, leading to its total destruction. The report, via East Idaho News:
SALMON — A country store near Salmon is a total loss after catching fire Saturday night.
Lemhi County Fire Protection District Chief Mike Warner tells EastIdahoNews.com the fire started around 7:30 p.m. at Baker Country Market, a popular market off Idaho State Highway 28, about 9 miles east of Salmon.
The market caught ablaze due to a nearby ongoing brush fire:
An investigation from the fire marshal confirms the flames at the store were the result of a separate brush fire going on nearby.
He said wind caused the fire to spread to some pallets close to the market and eventually inside the building.
If the fire started around 7:30 PM, it’s likely no one was in the store at the time. I don’t know if the Miller family lives in the vicinity of not, but chances are that their home is elsewhere.
If that’s the case, no one would have been around to be aware of what was happening at the time. You also wonder how long the brush fire was ongoing, and how that got started.
Firefighters made it on scene 10 minutes after getting the call (this is a pretty sparsely-populated area; the nearby “big” town of Salmon has a population 3,257).
The fire chief commented that “It had an open attic with no fire breaks in it. So, once the fire got up in the attic, (it spread) to the interior roofing (and the rest of the building).”
After initial reports of damage of around $500,000, that estimate was upgraded to $1.2 million, and the market described as a “total loss”.
The store was much-appreciated by residents. One representative comment at the above FB post, on news of the fire: “So sad we love this store I hope they are able to rebuild.” Another person wrote:
We LOVE Bakers! No more fruit pies, bread, fancy cheeses for a while! We stop every week for deliciousness.
I hope they will rebuild! Prayers to the owners we should start a go fund me!
Here’s what the market looked like previously. A well-loved store in a beautiful setting:
Bill Colley of KLIX also shares a local perspective, and brings home the loss to both the community and especially the Miller family, describing them as “devastated”:
I woke up over the weekend to messages about a massive fire in Salmon. The Baker Amish Country store went up in flames late Saturday.
My friend, Tracy Krekeler, was driving home from some evening errands when she saw the disaster unfolding. She explained the owners had recently completed some renovations, and a large walk-in freezer is all that remains standing.
The store is a landmark in the community, and its loss will leave a significant void for shoppers. It’s located in ranching territory off Highway 28 outside of town.
Investigators believe wind drove sparks from a nearby outdoor fire. Tracy explains that the owners, whom she knows well, are devastated by the loss.
We don’t much hear about the Amish in Idaho. It goes without saying this is not the kind of story you want to see to remind you that the state has a small Amish presence.
Hopefully the family will be able to rebuild, with help from the community. Around 120 Amish people live in the settlement, so it’s not very big.
So I wouldn’t be surprised if Amish from other “nearby” communities – like several in Montana – do something to help, for example a benefit auction or other event.
And if a GoFundMe does get started, I will post it here. Best wishes to the Miller family and their community.
Update: Owners Were Burning Debris Near Store
My guess in the post above that the owners weren’t on the premises at the evening hour of 7:30 was incorrect. It turns out they were…and were actually burning materials that eventually led to the fire engulfing the country store.
East Idaho News published an update to the story today, coming three days after the Saturday fire (“Officials determine cause of blaze that destroyed Salmon’s ‘Amish store’”). Here’s the relevant bit in bold:
Mike Warner, chief of the Lemhi County Fire Protection District, said the fire started when embers from a nearby debris burn ignited a stack of pallets next to the building.
“The business owners were burning some old boxes and rubbish not far from the store,” Warner said. “The wind came up, blowing a chunk of hot embers that landed on the pallets, causing the fire spread to the building.”
Although firefighters arrived within about 10 minutes of the initial call, the structure was already engulfed.
Initially it was reported that a nearby “brush fire” combined with high winds led to the fire igniting pallets near the store, and then the store itself.
If I were the owner, that knowledge would make this even harder, as the fire wasn’t generated by some external source out of their control, but by their own actions.
I don’t think that should diminish people’s sympathy for what happened, as accidents happen, and we have to assume nothing about this was intentional.
As far as help and cleanup, there is also this new information:
Cleanup began quickly, with excavation crews working Monday to haul away debris from the site.
While community members have offered to help coordinate fundraising efforts, the Amish typically maintain a private, low-profile lifestyle, and the owners have asked for time to process what happened, declining assistance for now.
It’s no surprise that cleanup has begun rapidly, as is typical with the Amish. Based on what I’ve seen from public response, I believe a lot of people would like to help financially.
But I imagine it is something that the owners might have to consider, as for some Amish it would be outside of their comfort zone, so to speak, to accept public help. Though, it happens enough that Amish families in need do accept contributions from outsiders.
I would not be surprised if all the Amish communities across the country did not pitch in and send them something to help them get rebuilt. There are so many communities that just a little from each one should be enough.
Country Market Fire
As many Amish people do not carry any sort of commercial insurance for either health, home, livestock, etc. I wonder if the Paul Miller family have insurance for the market?? In some parts of the country, state & local laws require it in order to open a business. If I had a million dollars I didn’t personally need I would instantly give it to family to help them rebuild. But I also agree with Martha’s comment; The Amish community across the country will no doubt find ways to help this business to start anew. It’s what Amish are known for: the spirit of Christian charity. May they be blessed abundantly and a new business be up and running in no time.