By Elisabeth Dunham | Photography by Shannon Butler
On December 15, 2012, Bob and Carla Patterson were happily co-hosting a holiday party at their Prineville vacation home when they received some bad news. “Just as we were finishing dinner, we got a call from a neighbor in Hillsboro that our house there was on fire,” Carla recalls. “Her daughter had seen flames from a window.”
Not wanting to ruin the festive mood for their friends, the badly shaken couple finished the night without telling anyone what was going on. Carla still chokes back tears as she remembers returning to Hillsboro with her husband the next day to find their 1978 ranch home in ruins. Despite firefighter’s efforts, the couple lost not only their home of more than 30 years, where they had raised their two sons, but all their possessions, from photos to furniture. Fortunately, no one was injured.
On December 15, 2012, Bob and Carla Patterson were happily co-hosting a holiday party at their Prineville vacation home when they received some bad news. “Just as we were finishing dinner, we got a call from a neighbor in Hillsboro that our house there was on fire,” Carla recalls. “Her daughter had seen flames from a window.”
Not wanting to ruin the festive mood for their friends, the badly shaken couple finished the night without telling anyone what was going on. Carla still chokes back tears as she remembers returning to Hillsboro with her husband the next day to find their 1978 ranch home in ruins. Despite firefighter’s efforts, the couple lost not only their home of more than 30 years, where they had raised their two sons, but all their possessions, from photos to furniture. Fortunately, no one was injured.