In the early morning hours of December 31st, everything changed for the owner of the Pelly Grocery Market.

Won Lee was in Alberta at the time, celebrating the holidays with his family, when he received a text from an employee. The image depicted his store fully engulfed in flames.

After driving nine hours through the night to reach the scene, Lee arrived to a pile of rubble. His store, and his livelihood, were gone. This was the only grocery store in Pelly, and Lee says 80 per cent of residents are elderly and without a driver’s license.

“Now they must drive ten minutes to get water and milk and stuff. It sounds okay, as it’s only ten minutes, but they don’t drive. They don’t have a driver’s license. It’s desperate for me and the Pelly community.”

One Pelly resident, Eric Krochak organized a Go Fund Me for Lee. This is how he reacted to finding out his community was raising money for him.

“I was crying so much. They treat me as a family to them, a family and friend. I am so thankful. I think I did a good job for them, and they really love me.”

As for what he plans to do with the money, Lee says “I have a file of bills from SaskTel, SaskEnergy and SaskPower. I have to catch up on my bills, that’s all,” he laughed.

Lee says it is undetermined how the fire began, but he has ruled out suspicious activity after reviewing footage from a nearby security camera.

Lee adds that he is currently working with his insurance provider to create a full inventory list to determine how much he is entitled to.