Edwall family loses home to Gray Fire

SILVER LAKE-A couple with Lincoln County school and farming ties lost their Lakehurst Drive home in the Gray Fire in and near Medical Lake Friday, Aug. 18. Ashton and Ashley Klein were among the many who saw their homes and structures burn in the 10,000-plus acre fire that ravaged the south part of Medical Lake that fateful weekend.

Ashley Klein, a school psychologist with the Davenport School District, was in the couple's house with their 2-year-old son Kolter when she received the evacuation notice on her phone.

"I actually drove past the fire coming back from Edwall, but I wasn't worried," she said. "Then I got the Level 3 alert on my phone."

Ashley Klein quickly grabbed what she could: A drawer with key documents, a treasure chest with photos of Kolter as a baby, her work computer, Ashton's heirloom rifle and the family chihuahua.

The rest of the family's possessions, including Ashley's wedding ring and Ashton's prized farmer's hat collection, quickly succumbed to the blaze.

Husband Ashton, a fifth-generation farmer in the Edwall area, meanwhile, was out of cell service while sitting on a combine.

"I finally made it to a hilltop and my phone started blowing up," he said.

He tried to get back to the home, but by then, officials had completely blocked access to Silver Lake.

The family waited through that Friday night hoping to hear or see good news about their home.

"We were helpful because we knew (Silver Lake Bible Camp) and our neighbors were standing, but then we got pictures," Ashton Klein said. "All night we're looking at posted pictures and videos looking for our place...then family members sent us pictures."

The family returned to the now fallen home Saturday morning.

"It was kind of eerie Saturday morning," Ashton Klein said. "It was dark, gray, eerie...like a warzone."

"There are some dishes to unload in the dishwasher," he joked.

The one-story, 980-square-foot house had been in the Klein family since Ashton Klein's great-grandparents, Linus and Willa Klein of Edwall, constructed it in what the family believes was the 1950s, though the exact dates are fuzzy.

It acted as a summer home for the family throughout the years before Ashton moved in permanently 12 years ago. Ashley joined him four years ago, and their son Karter came along two years later.

"It's sad to lose something that's more of a heritage/legacy thing than just a regular house," Ashton Klein said. "Your head goes to all the family gatherings that used to happen here."

He added that it's been challenging to explain the situation to young Kolter.

"After a couple days, he was saying, 'dada, go home," Ashton Klein said. "It's so sad because he had no idea it's not there."

Ashley Klein said it's difficult to lose things that one doesn't think about in an emergency.

"We had so many Christmas ornaments from throughout the years," she said. "I had a big photo album from me showing horses, and all my jewelry...little finger paintings I did with our little guy."

"Those kinds of things you can't go out and buy."

The family expressed gratitude to friends and family for what they called "overwhelming support." They're staying with Ashton's mother, Deanna Klein, at the family farm in Edwall.

But they hope to eventually rebuild the longtime family home where Ashton was born to Deanna and her late husband, Keith. There, they plan to raise their soon-to-be three children, as Ashley is pregnant and expecting twins.

"We are absolutely planning to rebuild as soon as possible," Ashton Klein said.

The family has not set up a GoFundMe account to raise financial assistance, saying many other families affected by the Gray Fire are in far worse situations than themselves.

"You just can't fathom the devastation that came through here," Ashley Klein said.