By Lynnette Hoffman
Tuesday, November 30, 2021 3:31 pm

On Wednesday, November 24, a wonderful couple in Winlock lost their home to fire. Bob and Carol Sutton's home was a total loss.

On November 24, 2021, at 9:15 p.m., firefighters from Lewis County Fire Districts 15-Winlock, 2-Toledo, 20-Vader and 5-Napavine responded to a fire. The fire was reported as a structure fire threatening an additional structure in the 100 block of Allman Rd. First responders found the home engulfed in flames from the single story resident. Firefighters initiated an offensive attack while also protecting a nearby exposure. The fire caused heavy damage and was determined to be under control at 10:15 p.m. Units remained on scene, extinguishing hot spots until 11:58 p.m. The cause of the fire is being investigated by the Lewis County Fire Marshall. Approximately 20 firefighters were involved.

Chief Underdal stated, "I would like to personally thank District 5 in Napavine, District 2 Toledo, District 20, Vader and Ryderwood for their help in battling the fire. It was a difficult fire with hgh heat intensity. All of our mutual aid agencies work very closely together to create one great team."

Many of you might know Bob and Carol Sutton. Carol is the wonderful lady on Saturday's serving coffee at the Winlock Assembly of God. Bob and Carol are wonderful people and they would do anything to help someone else. Carol, as many call her, is "The coffee lady" but she is much more than that. Carol sends messages to many of us every morning, starting our day off right.

Carol had stage 4 stomach cancer and has been in remission for 2 years, she knows struggles. She was always there for everyone, even during her treatment. She never forgot to send messages to people in the community. When you see Bob, you know he will come say "hi" and talk to you about their coffee. These two have been such a blessing to our area.

Bob and Carol will have to start over from scratch, Carol was not even able to grab her purse or bible. The Winlock Assembly of God church has set up a go fund me account named "Support for Carol and Bob." They are also accepting donations at the church as several people have asked how they can help.

Small Acts of Kindness is helping gather donations. They are a non-profit in Lewis County, they started in Winlock. They have given $500 to the gofundme account to start it off. As of Sunday, the gofundme account set up by Melissa Hunt has $1375 of their $100,000 goal. Melissa stated in her comment on gofundme "Please feel free to bless these sweet souls through this fundraiser or their church at Winlock Assembly of God. Of course, above all, please keep praying!" Carol and Bob have prayed for so many of us during the years, their love for their community has never failed.

Bob and Carol have donated so much of their time to our community, anything you can give will be a tremendous help.