鈥淲hen we were evacuated, the cops came to my house, and鈥� Sorry, this is so hard to talk about,鈥� says Cody Bandsma. 鈥淐ops came to my house, and I grabbed everything I could. I grabbed picture frames, I grabbed albums. I really didn鈥檛 think it was going to go down, so I didn鈥檛 grab as much as I should鈥檝e,鈥� said Cody, whose house in 105 Mile House burned down.

鈥淚t鈥檚 just all a crater. I don鈥檛 know really what to say, it just happened really fast,鈥� he says. Cody is currently staying in Kelowna and adds that they had an automotive mechanics shop by the house as well.

Cody鈥檚 dad Stan Bandsma was on holidays in the Shuswap at the time.

鈥淓very time I go to think of, I鈥檓 gonna go home and grab that thing 鈥� it鈥檚 not there anymore. I was very well set up. I had 1st Stop Auto and it was all set up very nicely. I had every piece of equipment that I needed to do just about anything. I had everything really nice and neat, I鈥檓 very picky. It鈥檚 very devastating for me.鈥�

鈥淐ody was at home, my son, and he said 鈥榃hat do you want me to do?鈥� So we gave him a list and he went through and took personal things like pictures and albums and stuff like that. He got the Mustang out of there, my show car, a 鈥�73 Mustang Fastback; he got that out of there and another car trailer and he got my Bobcat out of there.

鈥淗e was just working tirelessly until 10 o鈥檆lock that night. Just getting stuff out of there and he didn鈥檛 think of himself. He didn鈥檛 even take any of his own stuff, no clothes, nothing. No sentimental stuff of his own. He was amazing and he鈥檚 taking it very hard. It鈥檚 really rough on him. He was pretty much a one-year-old when we got there and we built everything.

鈥淓verything on that property we had built or rebuilt. There was nothing on that property when we got there. He did an amazing job.鈥�

The family found out their place had burned down through a picture on Facebook.

鈥淪omeone drove through in the night actually, and showed us a film of him driving through the driveway and it looked like a war zone there. And then someone put a picture in the morning and put it on Facebook at the end of the driveway pointing in and the only thing standing was the 1st Stop Auto Sign,鈥� he says. 鈥淭echnically, I shouldn鈥檛 even know my house is burned down.鈥�

According to Stan, their home is not the only one destroyed.

鈥淭here are other houses that are gone in that area too. I know that because I鈥檝e seen pictures, but I don鈥檛 want to say who they are.鈥�

Stan was overwhelmed with it all.

鈥淚鈥檝e lost my business, so I have no way to make an income. That was our total income that we had for our family. I have no way of making an income now and then everything else is gone too,鈥� he says. 鈥淲e鈥檙e just gonna hang out in Kelowna I guess; find a hotel or whatever.鈥�

Cody says when they can, they鈥檒l go back as a family.

鈥淲henever we鈥檙e we鈥檙e allowed in there, we鈥檙e gonna go as a family and we鈥檙e gonna try and see what we can recover.鈥�