Already displaced by flooding, couple rocked by house fire

BUTTE — After fire destroyed the duplex they had been renting Thursday evening, Chris Wenner said he’s taking it as a sign.

“We’re done,” Wenner said while the remains of his residence at 16640 E. Sullivan Ave. smoked in the background.

The family’s struggle began along the banks of the Matanuska River in July 2012 when erosion forced their evacuations and claimed a cabin on their property at 1150 N. Old Glenn Highway. Continued erosion and flooding later in the summer also made their primary residence uninhabitable.

Chris and Daina Mirsch-Wenner were denied state and federal assistance during last September’s flooding and nearly 10 months later, their homeowner’s insurance also hasn’t covered their losses.

When the waters crested on the Matanuska River in September, the Wenners had already been evacuated for months. The river had created a new channel in July, driving them out, dumping one of two residences on their property into the river and undercutting the main house. Now the house still is unlivable, dangling over the riverbank.

“We do have flood insurance and we’re still paying on that,” Mirsch-Wenner said last November.

In fact, they also continued paying homeowners’ insurance on an uninhabitable home, worried that with all the people who stop by to see the dangling house vandalism might occur. They’re also still paying the mortgage. With Thursday’s fire, though, the couple seems to have been pushed past their limit. Wenner said the Red Cross will provide a voucher for housing for a few days, but after that, he says they plan to drive back to Minnesota where they are from.

He said missing is the $500 gas money they will need for the trek down the Alaska Highway.

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