Cressman’s owner to rebuild historic store near Shaver Lake. He saw Creek Fire destroy it
Ty Gillett was there when the historic business he owned and loved, Cressman’s General Store, went up in flames Monday night.
He’d been helping provide gasoline for firefighters battling the Creek Fire just up Highway 168 in the Shaver Lake area until the blaze moved farther down the mountain. Cressman’s ignited around 9:30 p.m., Gillett recalled, as he stood just down the highway.
He’s grateful to firefighters and friends who helped him try to save it.
“There was nothing anybody could have done to fight that fire,” Gillett said of the inferno that came for Cressman’s, “and those guys and their expertise is what kept us all alive.”
Gillett, his wife, Tara, and their two young children – 8-year-old Emmett and 5-year-old Paige – also lost their nearby home that night. The wildfire ravaged the hamlets of Pine Ridge and Alder Springs.
Pine Ridge Elementary School was one of few structures there to survive. Blackened ground encircling the school, with small flames still visible in playgrounds Tuesday, told a story of an immense firefighting effort to make that possible.
Gillett has been focusing on helping his employees and other community members now. Then he plans to get to work rebuilding the beloved store established in 1904.
“There’s a lot of history and it’s sad to see the buildings go,” he said, “but the spirit of it and what everybody loves about it will come back.”
GoFundMe to help Gilletts and employees
A GoFundMe donation page was made to help the Gilletts and their 16 employees. Linda Giglio, who made the page, talked about her friend Tara Gillett’s work as a nurse at Valley Children’s Hospital near Fresno.
“She has always put the needs of her patients, friends, family and community, above her own,” Giglio wrote “Now she needs our help.”
People have been answering that call. More than $25,000 had been raised by Wednesday night. Ty said Valero also offered to help. The store had Valero gas pumps outside.
“A beloved historical landmark has been lost,” said the Gilletts in a statement on the store’s website, “and the pain our family and our community is enduring is almost suffocating at times. The mountain communities are hurting as a whole. We are very touched at the outreach from everyone with offers to help.”
Past and present store owners ready to rebuild
Cressman’s was purchased by the Gilletts a year ago. For 10 years prior to that, it was owned by Keith Davis and two others.
“Everyone that walked in the store from the local area, you knew them by name,” said Davis, who also lost his home to the Creek Fire. “You knew what was going on in their lives and you supported each other. It really, truly lives up to that image of a small-town general store.”
And for campers and vacationing families headed to Shaver Lake and the High Sierra, Davis said, reaching Cressman’s at the top of the Highway 168 four-lane was a happy sign they “were almost there.”
Ty grew up near the store, visiting it throughout his life. He worked in construction blasting rocks before he and Tara purchased it.
“It’s a huge part of that community,” Ty said. “It provides a lot of jobs for a small community. Everybody loves that store. We make a lot of really good homemade food.”
The Gilletts and Davis both safely evacuated from their homes and are now staying in the central San Joaquin Valley. They are among thousands who have been forced out by the fire. Officials estimate the Creek Fire has destroyed at least 360 structures.
Ty misses their view of the mountains.
Will the Gilletts rebuild their house near the store, too?
“Everything is on the table,” he said. “I’m certainly not ruling it out.”
For Davis, there’s no question: “The house might be gone, but it’s still our home.”
“The expressions of just caring and sympathy from the community have just been overwhelming,” Davis said, “and that’s what our community is all about up there. We’re all using the hashtag #ShaverStrong so we can build, and build back better, and help each other in the process, because there are a lot of people on that mountain that are going to need some help.”
This story was originally published September 9, 2020 at 6:21 PM.
