Some of you likely know Austin (username is: austin ) as he’s an old school ITR owner and someone who was heavily involved in the ITR and Honda racing community since 2000. He was with me at ITR Expo 1, and even drove several times to the subsequent Expo events on the East Coast (as one of the original die-hards). He's easily one of the nicest people you can meet and always willing to lend a helping hand. He’s never been someone that had lots of money, but was always willing to make the sacrifices needed to enjoy what he liked the most; working and racing on his ITR and Civic H2 race car. I could ramble on and on about how nice Austin is, but I’ll let the community speak to that.

Unfortunately, last Saturday disaster struck his family. The house he had been living in with his mother (Diane) was sadly destroyed in the Middletown fire with virtually no notice or preparation. For those that don’t know, in under 72hrs this fire has burnt over 67,000 acres and is only 15% contained. It’s destroyed over 585 homes and an estimated 1500 buildings. The fire will likely go down as one of the most dangerous and damaging fires in Northern California history.

Along with their home (of over 35yrs) and personal possessions, Austin also lost his racecar (Civic - Honda Challenge H2 car), trailer, tow vehicle, parts, tools, etc... You name it, it’s gone. Thankfully however, he and his mother are in good health and were safely evacuated before the fire swept through. Unfortunately, outside of the shirts on their back, and a few miscellaneous items (including the ITR), they’re more or less left with nothing.

While items are items, and lives are lives, the healing and reconstruction process must take place. To make this process a little easier, a GoFundMe account was setup to collect donations. While insurance will hopefully cover the major stuff, the immediate essentials (clothing, food, bed, temporary housing, etc…) will have to come out of pocket. For Austin personally, he’s likely at a total loss with the race car and parts, and will probably be out of racing commission for a while. Any spare help would be greatly appreciated by his family.


For those willing or able, any support would be happily accepted by Austin and his mother (details below).

For those that would like to share some comments, feel free to post them below as I’ll be forwarding Austin a link to this thread.

Below is a link to the GoFundMe account that’s been setup:
Lake County Fire Help for Diane by Sheila English - GoFundMe


For more information on the fire:
http://cdfdata.fire.ca.gov/inc...=1226
http://www.google.com/maps/@38...hl=en

Disclaimer: I'm not connected or affiliated with the GoFundMe account, I'm just trying to help an old friend. If requested, I can put you in contact with Austin for more information or you can reach him directly on Facebook @ Austin Getty

Note: I’ve received permission from Austin to post this.

 

Mike, thank you for making this post, I appreciate it. My mother left the house with one change of clothes, a box of pictures, and her laptop.
When she left the house across the street was on fire, and the neighbor's yard was on fire. She barely made it out. They have confirmed 585 homes destroyed, and believe that the final count will be over 1,000.
I lost the race car, spares, trailer, tools, furniture, household items, collectables, and memories, but we are all alive, which is the most important part.

 

Oh no! Austin, I'm glad you and your mom are ok.

y shi - who sent you a msg on FB

 

Damn.. sorry to hear. But like you said, at least you and the family are ok!

 

Glad to hear you and your mother are ok that's the most important part. Will try to help out as best as I can.

I met Austin back as Expo 1 as well and he is the nicest guy you could imagine.