On December 24, Kim Johnson came home to anyone's worst nightmare. She had been celebrating Christmas at her son's house down the road, and arrived home to find smoke coming from her house.
Johnson immediately called 911, and fire trucks from Garretson, Jasper, Dell Rapids, and Trent arrived to battle the flames. She and her daughter Noel broke through a basement window to rescue the family dog, who was subsequently treated for smoke inhalation but was improving thanks to quick thinking from a first responder, who administered oxygen to the animal upon arrival.
While the exact cause of the fire is not yet known, it is suspected that it began with faulty wiring in a kitchen appliance. Fire trucks had to bring multiple sources of water, and battled the flames until early Christmas morning.
Johnson, a longtime resident of the Garretson/Sherman area, is a mother to three, Colton Trende, Dakota Johnson, and Noel Johnson. Noel was still living at home while attending college, and both women lost all belongings in the fire. To make matters worse, Noel's birthday was December 26.
The community immediately began surrounding the family with support, as did the barrel racing community that Johnson is a part of.
Friends set up a GoFundMe, began sending out Venmo information, and began setting up an online silent auction.
To help the family, they request Venmo or Target or Walmart gift cards for immediate needs, donations to the GoFundMe, or supporting the silent auction. The silent auction is currently accepting items and will open for bidding on December 29. Final bids will be accepted until 8:00 a.m. on January 4, 2025.
The GoFundMe can be found at https://gofund.me/295efff3 and the Silent Auction is being held on Facebook (search "Silent Auction Benefit for Kim Johnson").
