Candlelight vigil for Butte fire victims set Saturday

PALMER — A memorial and candlelight vigil has been set for Saturday to celebrate the five young Butte girls who died in a Sept. 7 mobile home fire.

A family-approved Facebook page, “Flores-Quackenbush 5,” has been set up. According to Tiffany Moffitt Rye, a page administrator on the site, the vigil is scheduled for Saturday at the Palmer Train Depot form 6-8 p.m. Rye posted that the first 1 1/2 hours will be held inside the depot where a slideshow, music and sharing memories and thoughts of the young ladies will take place. The last half-hour has been set aside for the candlelight vigil itself. She said children attending under the age of 12 will be given bubbles instead of candles.

“If it is decent weather, we will walk in a candle-lit row across South Valley Way through the library parking lot and to the area on the green for a prayer and moment of silence,” Rye posted. “Otherwise we will just be outside the depot. We will share more details as we confirm them. For now, we just wanted the public to be able to know where and when.”

The page has also turned into a place where family and friends are posting and sharing pictures and thoughts. Twelve-year old Alexis Quackenbush, 8-year old Naveah Flores, 7-year old Lilyanna Flores, 6-year old Sofia Flores and 3-year old Jaelynn Flores died in the fire. The blaze’s cause is still under investigation and details on the cause of death have not yet been released by the State Medical Examiner’s Office.

The social media page stated that Jimmy Flores and Janelle Quackenbush gathered with family and friends Monday.

“Please keep the family in prayer as we attempted to celebrate the parents’ 10th wedding anniversary, (Sunday) night and dad’s birthday today,” the post stated.

An impromptu memorial remembering the young ladies sprung up over the weekend at the site of the tragedy on Wickham Drive off the Old Glenn Highway.

“Thank you so much to those who have stopped by the remains of their family home and dropped off flowers and cards and stuffed animals. You are so appreciated,” a family acquaintance posted on the page. “We are going to try and there (Monday) to get some kind of covering over the space so people can continue to leave items for the family.”

Rye said weekend rains, in particular the heavy rain on Sunday, prohibited that from happening.

Rye posted the Facebook page will also serve as a location to find the latest updates on various planned fundraisers. A number of them have been set up to some extent. Matanuska Valley Federal Credit Union (MVFCU) has an established account for monetary donations.

According to a MVFCU spokesperson, the account was set up by Quackenbush’s work colleagues at Great Clips in Palmer. The account number is 158068. Cash is accepted. Checks should be made out to Jimmy Flores with the account number and a note that the check is for deposit only. Additionally, Great Clips in both Palmer and Wasilla will match monetary donations for the next several weeks as well, according to posts.

There have also been two GoFundMe accounts established: GoFundMe Pages:

www.gofundme.com/quackenbushflores-girls-fund and https://www.gofundme.com/helpjanelleandjimmy .Those wishing to donate on Facebook can go to https://www.facebook.com/donate/897002680463600/. According to posts, Shear Fire Design in Palmer is accepting monetary donations and gift cards only.

Contact reporter Chris Ford at 352-2270 or chris.ford@frontiersman.com