POCATELLO — Rosemary McCarty, eight months since losing her home to the Charlotte fire, is still hoping for a little luck in getting her home rebuilt.

    It’s going slow. I am trying to work on some things to get people to donate and get some supplies,” McCarty said. “I just need help with materials and donations.”

    McCarty’s Moose Road home, a seven-bedroom, three-bathroom abode where she and her children lived on a little more than four acres, was not insured when the Charlotte fire swept through on June 28.

    She had lost her job a few months earlier and was forced to make some cuts in her outgoing expenses. Faced with a choice between power, water and homeowner’s insurance, she chose to stop the insurance for what she hoped would be a short time.

    When the Charlotte fire hit, McCarty was home with her son and his friend. Home from work early, McCarty was making lunch when she and her son smelled the smoke. A quick look at her surroundings revealed trouble.

    “We had 10 minutes to get everything out,” she said. “At that time, my son’s dog had just had puppies, so we had nine dogs, three cats and a hamster to get out.”

    Their home of 11 years, and all their possessions inside, were lost to the fire.

    Ironically, McCarty did find new employment relatively quickly and was slated to speak with an insurance agent a week after the Charlotte Fire.

    Now living in a two-bedroom trailer with three of her children, McCarty pays rent on the current living space and still pays the mortgage on her Moose Road property. She scrapes to save money, still determined to rebuild.

    “It’s a bit crowded, but we’re hanging in there, we’re getting by,” she said, “I have been saving money and people, right after the fire, donated money. I am a long ways off, though, from where I need to be.”

    She’s not looking to replace her old home exactly as it was. In fact, McCarty’s fine with downsizing a bit, content with a three or four-bedroom home, especially since just three of her children still live at home. McCarty estimates she needs $30,000 to get the ball rolling on her new home.

    She currently has $7,000 saved up. McCarty is hopeful, however, because of the generosity so many have shown her during the days, weeks and months since her home burned.

    Those willing to help her increase those funds can donate at Mountain America Credit Union, located at 511 W. Maple St., in Pocatello, where McCarty has an account set up called simply, “The Fire Account.”

    While she hopes folks will see her need as a worthy cause, McCarty is also hopeful about some funds she will be receiving either today or Wednesday.

    The 2012 Idaho Wildfire Long Term Recovery Organization, formed during the fall to help with needs that went unmet in the wake of the Charlotte fire, has completed its needs assessments, talking with each and every person affected by the fire, and this week the group is handing out checks based on those assessments.

    According to a release from the LTRO, as it calls itself, those checks will be given out during two receptions hosted from

7 to 9 p.m. tonight and Wednesday evening.

    Both receptions will be hosted in the conference room of the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality’s Pocatello office, located at 444 Hospital Way, suite 300.

    If you among those affected by the Charlotte fire and are expecting a monetary distribution but cannot attend either reception, the LTRO can send those funds by registered mail. In the release, the LTRO asks that all those who can pick up their distribution to please do so, to help reduce the number of registered letters they have to send out and minimize the administrative costs involved.

    The LTRO said the distributions are not the end of their activities when it comes to the Charlotte fire. The group will continue to solicit volunteer organizations and local businesses to help with remaining needs. They do anticipate additional funds during the spring and will conduct additional distributions as needed.

    Those who cannot make either reception can contact Bruce Olenick, vice-chairman  of the LTRO, at 208-520-2176, or by e-mail at olenbruce@live.com.

    One of the reasons McCarty believes she can get going with such a small initial amount, just $30,000, is because she has a number of able-bodied individuals ready to put in all the labor.

    “My son is in the (U.S.) Army, and his sergeant said we can use them, his reserve unit,” McCarty said. “So I have the bodies who can build, I just need materials and a contractor.”

    However long it takes, McCarty says she’s in it for the long haul. She’s in it for love of the place she has called home for more than a decade.

    “It’s gorgeous up here, it’s quiet and this is where I chose to raise my family and my kids,” she said. “It’s a slow process, but I am getting there.”