Dusty Hatch remembers working at his shop, Francis’ Frontier Woodworks, back in 2005 when a spark smoldering in a dust collector grew into a fire that claimed the business.
This year, on Pioneer Day, it happened again.
Hatch and his wife Raychel were on a river trip in Idaho, without cell service. When they were within range they say their phones went “crazy,” and Raychel Hatch called her mom.
“I watched the color just drain from her face. And I thought somebody was dead,” Dusty Hatch said. “And she said, ‘Your shop,’ I'm like, ‘What? What?’ She said, ‘Your shop’s burned down.’ And my comment was, ‘That's it? Nobody’s dead?’ And she said no, everybody’s OK.”
He was in good spirits speaking with KPCW Aug. 4, but said there are good days and bad, with no way to sugarcoat the damage.
The family says rebuilding could cost as much as $2 million. Some of what burned was insured; other parts of the building weren’t.
Hatch said the drive back to Utah gave them time to process and think about what’s next. It was his son-in-law, Levi Thompson, who was at the shop when the fire started.
“The guys that were here working, I just feel bad for because they had to endure all that,” Hatch said.
The woodworks showroom wasn’t harmed July 24. The cause of the fire that destroyed the main building still isn’t known, South Summit Fire Chief Scott Thorell said. But it did start near the dust collector.
Hatch said they started cleaning up the main building a few days after the blaze.
Meanwhile, neighbors far and wide were thinking of how to help.
The Hatch family says they’ve received money in the mail from around the state. An online fundraiser was approaching $50,000 as of Aug. 5.
Kamas Valley resident Cheyenne Hancock is helping organize a softball tournament fundraiser for the Hatch and Thompson families.
Hancock is a friend and softball teammate of Levi and his wife Sydney Thompson, who runs Farmhouse Florist. She said the community similarly rallied around her own family when her brother was hurt years ago. Now she’s paying it forward.
“So in hopes that we can help give a little bit back to them, because … both their companies are so vital to our town,” Hancock said.
Dusty and Raychel Hatch said they want to thank the community, and everyone who’s helped them.
“It's humbling, and it's also — it's much harder to receive than it is to give,” Dusty Hatch admitted.
He said they’re waiting to see what kind of permit they need from the city of Francis to rebuild.
They don’t know yet if they can save the front facade of the business, behind which is the burned remnants of the floral shop. The woodworks behind it is almost completely gone.
Hatch said he’ll take to social media in the coming days and begin providing the community with updates on their progress.
But he expects it to be slow going, with no estimated reopening date. The priority, he said, is to let their employees get back to work.
The families have started “The Garage” at Spring Hollow out of the showroom and will start hosting culinary and floral workshops.
Raychel Hatch’s monthly garden club is still going. And the flowers around the property, despite the damage, are still in full bloom.
