As Stephanie Bowers sifted through the charred remains of her mother’s books, she paused and cried. Bowers’ mother, Cheryl Roop, 59, died in a trailer home fire in Mitchell, S.C. early on Sept. 29.
Now living in Missoula, Mont., Bowers drove to Mitchell when she heard about the fire. Family members were able to retrieve some mementos of her mother’s life, which Bowers said has provided some small comfort.
Scenes like that have been all too common this year in Mitchell.
Fires caused an estimated $1,390,876 in property damage in the city through August, already more than five times last year’s total of $254,365, according to monthly reports prepared by the Mitchell Fire Division. In that same time period, the total number of fires, 62, already eclipses last year’s total of 57, the reports say.
And those numbers don’t yet include last month, when two homes were destroyed by fire. Another number not reflected in the reports is the two people who have died in fires this year.
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