Benefit concert provides aid for two Girdwood families who lost everything in apartment fire
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By Karen Garcia
Turnagain Times Correspondent
Girdwood remains the sort of tight-knit community where everyone knows everyone else.
For two families who found themselves homeless after a fire destroyed their duplex on July 11, that small-town community cohesion is what continues to lend them financial and emotional support during their time of crisis.
The most recent benefit for the families occurred on Saturday night, Aug. 15, at the Alyeska Daylodge, where the Photonz, Stray Dogma, and Melissa Mitchell all performed to raise money for Dena Cox and Ryan Zacher, as well as Steve and Laura Evans.
Tickets for the event were $20, and all proceeds went directly to the families. A silent auction was also held which featured gift certificates to local businesses as well as art, clothing, and pottery.
Pete Townsend, the mandolin player for the Photonz, was the principal organizer of the event.
“I pretty much put this all on because two families lost their houses and they’re good friends of mine,” said Townsend.
After hearing about the fire, Townsend contacted Alyeska Resort owner John Byrne and the two agreed it was necessary to coordinate a benefit for the families.
“We live in such a great community here,” Townsend said. “It’s one of the few communities in the country where you can count on everyone coming together in a time of need. We all do what we can do.”
Cox and Zacher, who know Townsend through mutual employment at the Seven Glaciers restaurant at Alyeska, were astounded by the community response to their plight.
“People in this town are totally amazing,” Cox said. “From the minute we got out of the fire people were bringing us stuff.”
Lacking renters insurance, Cox and Zacher scoured Craig’s List for days after the fire, searching for an available apartment, and through the goodwill of an accommodating landlord were fortunate enough to find a place for themselves and their three-month-old infant.
“The landlord was great,” Cox said. “She wasn’t really looking to rent it out, but then she heard what happened to us and came down and got the place ready in two days. It’s amazing how people can come together and help you.”
The benefit concert raised $7,720 that will be divided between the two families.
In addition to the concert, another fundraiser was held on Monday, July 13 at Maxine’s Glacier City Bistro, which Cox said was her favorite restaurant in town.
“It was two days after the fact, and they put it all together,” Cox said. “People pretty much stopped what they were doing for a day to help us out.”
Each family received about $3,200 from the benefit at Maxine’s.
Laura and Steve Evans, the other family that was displaced by the fire, have received some good news after living through several rocky weeks of couch-surfing—they moved into a new house on Wednesday. Aug. 12.
“We had started this process of buying a house about six months beforehand, and thankfully this last week everything came together,” said Laura Evans.
The couple has also obtained a new vehicle, which Evans referred to as “the deal of the century.” Both families’ cars were destroyed in the fire.
While having a new house is a great starting point, the Evans’ are still struggling to fill all of that empty space with everyday household items, and they say that is what the money from the benefits will go towards.
Steve Evans has already bought two beds for his 9-year-old and 11-year-old daughters.
“We’re trying to accumulate things little by little,” he said. “You know, a table to eat at, basic things.”
As for the thousands of dollars in musical and recording equipment that he lost in the fire, Evans said their replacement will have to wait until later.
“I have to get stuff for the kids first, the important stuff,” he said. “Music equipment I will have to re-accumulate down the road. I’ll buy a guitar and an amp so I can play, but all the recording equipment, multiple guitars (including a Les Paul guitar), will have to wait.”
It’s easy to ignore a tragedy when one is so far removed from those affected. But in an interconnected, involved community such as Girdwood, people realize that giving begets getting.
“I’ve been on the other side of these things so many times—events for other people’s tragedies,” Steve Evans said. “It feels weird to be on the receiving end.”
If you wish to send a monetary donation to one or both of the families, the mailing addresses can be found at alyeskaresort.com. Click on “Activities and Events” then “Fire Victims Benefit.”
