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Over $50,000 raised for family who lost Bednesti Lake home during Christmas Day blaze

It was a tragic start to the holiday season for a large family out at Bednesti Lake who lost their home to a fire.

The blaze occurred between 6 and 8 am on Christmas Day morning when Nick and his wife Chandler Shaw along with their four daughters escaped with the clothes on their backs.

Mark Shaw, who is Nick’s father told MyPGNow.com it will be a long road back for his son who is dealing with a severe case of frostbite to his feet.

“For Nick, he is going to have quite a recovery. I don’t know all the details because it’s too soon but because they had to cut all of the skin off his feet he will not be walking for quite a few months.”

The family lost their 2 dogs and 3 cats to the fire, as well as all of the equipment for their daughter, including hearing aids, glasses, talking iPad, and more.

“Both their dogs and their cats perished in the fire. I don’t know if they died from smoke inhalation first or not but it all happened so fast,” said Mark.

The family has four daughters, aged 14, 11, 7, and six weeks.

To make matters worse, all four of their vehicles were lost in the blaze as well.

When the Beaverly Volunteer Fire Department arrived, the house was already at a total loss.

“There was nothing they could do. It was out of control and they told the neighbors to wet their house down and then we just kind of looked but it was extremely cold,” added Mark.

However, the PG community has come to the family’s aid raising a combined 56-thousand dollars through a pair of GoFundMe pages.

“Because at first, we didn’t realize two people were doing it. One was doing it because they were a neighbor and then my daughter was on that so she is collecting all the items. A lot of people are helping them.”

Mark noted the plan is to amalgamate both pages into one at some point.

The cause of the fire is unknown.

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Send us a news tip by emailing [email protected].

Brendan Pawliw
Brendan Pawliw
Since moving to Prince George in 2015, Brendan has covered local sports including the WHL’s Prince George Cougars, Prince George Spruce Kings, UNBC Timberwolves, Cariboo Cougars AAA, and Northern Capitals U18 female hockey teams. Career highlights include play-by-play during the Spruce Kings' BCHL championship runs in 2018 and 2019, including the Doyle Cup win. He also covered the 2019 National Junior A Championship, the 2017 Telus Cup, the 2022 World Women’s Curling Championship, and the 2022 BC Summer Games. Brendan is the news voice on 94.3 The Goat and Country 97 FM, reporting on crime, real estate, labour, and environmental issues. Outside of work, he officiates box lacrosse and fastball, sits on the Prince George Sports Hall of Fame board, and co-hosts the Hockey North podcast.

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