Nearly two months after a fire destroyed their Whitefish area home, Ryan and Crystal Pengelly are slowly getting their lives back on track.

The Pengellys, as well as Ryan’s mother Bonnie, who was living with them, lost everything when they fled their burning single-wide trailer just before 2 a.m. on Nov. 7. The trio managed to escape with their dog and two newborn kittens in just pajamas and bare feet.

The fire claimed everything from their clothing to Ryan’s numerous military medals and citations. He had only just returned a month earlier after serving seven years in the military, including two tours in Afghanistan and one in Iraq. Ryan was still recovering from a brain injury sustained in Iraq when he survived a bomb blast.

They are currently living in an apartment complex managed by an acquaintance of Crystal’s in Columbia Falls.

“Things are kind of slowly piecing back together,” Ryan said. “We actually are trying to get our own place, we’re just kind of working it out.”

The 25-year-old said his family has been rebuilding their lives with help from the community. Among those who offered support was Frank Wright of Wright’s Furniture in Whitefish. Wright donated a complete bedroom set as well as other furniture to the Pengellys.

“He has been right there through it all,” Crystal said, “He is just an awesome dude and he has a big heart.”

John Delaney, a retired military man himself, has also made himself available to the family since the fire and helped out whenever he could. The local VFW put on a spaghetti dinner for the Pengellys, donating all the proceeds to the family.

The office of Montana Sen. Jon Tester is also lending a hand, working on getting Ryan’s lost military medals and awards replaced.

“Everybody just gave from their heart as much as they could,” Bonnie said. “I appreciate it very much. Without them there wouldn’t have been any Christmas or a Thanksgiving.”

Ryan said he enjoyed Christmas, which he spent with Crystal.

“I couldn’t really ask for much more,” Ryan said. “I’m just thankful for everything that I have.”

For her part, Crystal said she was just happy to have Ryan home.

There are still things that the Pengellys need, however, such as clothes and a kitchen table and chairs. While a good portion of Ryan’s clothing was still on its way back from the military, all of Crystal’s and Bonnie’s clothing was destroyed in the fire. For now they have just enough clothing to get by.

Bonnie, who works as a traveling certified nursing assistant, did get some immediate help with clothing for work. She showed up for work after the fire in a pair of sweat pants and a shirt and a fellow nurse had a spare set of scrubs waiting for her.

Crystal also said their bills are posing some problem, as neither she nor Ryan are currently working.

For her, memories of the fire are slow to fade.

“I’m having good days and bad days,” Crystal said. “I still have flashbacks of the fire.”

But day by day, their situation is slowly improving, and for that they are thankful.

“We’re just really, really grateful to the community,” Bonnie said. “They made the holidays a lot better for us.”

Reporter Jesse Davis may be reached at 758-4441 or by email jdavis@dailyinterlake.com.