The house of a beloved Squamish resident has burned down.
Between Monday evening and the early hours of Tuesday morning, the empty home of the late Terrill Patterson burned down.
His sister, Cheri DeGroot, confirmed that the house was taken in the fire.
DeGroot said she was shocked at what happened.
“My brother and my mom[’s] ashes were spread in front of the house, as that was their wishes after they passed. We are glad that everything was taken from the house and put in storage months earlier," she wrote to The Chief.
Patterson died on April 24. An outpouring of grief and respect for the eccentric resident followed.
"I understand how much my brother was loved in Squamish and...he loved...collecting cans, and bottles for cleaning up the environment and doing other things. He will be greatly missed but will be remembered in our hearts."
Municipal officials did not directly identify Patterson’s house but noted that Squamish Fire Rescue responded to a structure fire at an unoccupied home on Government Road across from Mamquam Elementary School.
“The fire has been extinguished and overhauled with the assistance of heavy machinery,” wrote deputy fire chief Aaron Foote in an email. “The structure was a total loss. Squamish Fire Rescue was able to contain the fire to the property of origin without any damage to the adjacent properties on either side.”
Foote said that the origin and cause of the fire is under investigation.
~With files from Jennifer Thuncher
