HOLTON – Thursday started out as a challenging day for Holton High School junior varsity volleyball coach Candy Murat and her family.

The windstorm that swept through the area caused them to lose power at home, so they drove to Candy’s parents’ house in Muskegon to shower, do some Christmas shopping and go out to dinner.

On their way home things got much worse, when Candy received a phone call telling her that their house was on fire.

A few hours later, the home at 3976 Crocker Rd. was a total loss, despite the best efforts of area firefighters.

Now Candy, her twin daughters, her boyfriend David Gaston and his son will be looking for a new place to live.

Until then, however, they are staying in local hotels and trying to have as normal of a Christmas as possible, while feeling grateful that their family is safe and together.

“We know that everything important was not inside the house,” Candy said.

They will likely be grieving the loss of their pet dog, 7-year-old Buckley, who was left inside when they were gone for the day. The dog has not yet been found, but the family believes she was probably lost in the blaze.

“We can’t find her,” Candy said about the family pet. “She was inside the house and there was probably no way she could have made it out. I think that’s the hardest part. We keep saying hopefully she got out somehow and is just scared and lost, but that’s very doubtful.”

The Holton community has responded in the family’s hour of need.

Dave’s Tavern, 8520 Holton Rd., will be having a special benefit all day on Monday, with 50 percent of all food sale proceeds going to the family.

Holton Hardware, 8505 Holton Rd., will be doing the same thing all day Monday.

Candy is very grateful for the support, and for the well-wishes of all of the people who have reached out to her.

“The community has been great,” she said. “I’ve done a lot of stuff in the community over the years, volunteering and coaching at the school, and all of that is coming back to us now. That close, small-town feeling is really in full force right now.”

Candy and her family has longtime ties to the Holton High School athletic program. She was the manager of the 1993 Holton volleyball team that won a state championship, and played on the volleyball team herself in high school.

Candy just completed her second year as the JV head volleyball coach, and her daughter, Katie Petersen, just completed her junior year on the varsity team.

Carl Murat, Candy’s brother, was an All-State athlete at Holton back in the 90s.

The family wasn’t sure to expect when they got home on Thursday, even though they already knew there was some kind of fire at the house.

Their house was on a hill behind another, so some time passed before they had the chance to fully view the devastation.

An official cause of the blaze has not been determined, but fire officials believe it may have started in the kitchen, Candy said.

“It was very overwhelming, seeing the number of emergency vehicles at the house,” said Candy, who added that David Gaston was at work in Ravenna at the time of the fire, and had to drive about a half hour to get back. “Several different local fire departments responded, and there were a few ambulances there. They had the cantine truck there, and several of the first responders were very good us, very patient and understanding. They had a lot of work do to and it was very cold.

“I had my girls sitting in the car. I had to stand outside most of the time and talk to the fire department officials and the police. Then we were sitting at the neighbors’ house for about three hours before they let us peek and take a look at the house.

“It was pretty indescribable. In the morning you walk out of the house, and when you get back you can barely recognize the kitchen or the living room. We only knew where there were because it was our house.”

Candy and her children had recently moved into the house with Gaston and his son, David Jr., who lives with his dad part-time.

She said she escaped an abusive relationship in the past and had been living in various places with her children until she met and moved in with Gaston. Having a permanent place to call home had been a blessing, she said – but houses are replaceable, and luckily theirs was insured.

“For the last 11 years we have been in survival mode,” she said. “But anything can be rebuilt or replaced. I couldn’t ask for a better partner to go through this with. David has been very supportive, and the kids have been great.”

The family has been staying at the Harrington Inn in Fremont since the fire, and on Sunday moved to a cabin at the Double JJ Resort in Rothbury, where they can cook Christmas dinner and have their holiday.

After the holidays they will be looking for a rental unit in the Holton or Twin Lake area, so they will have a short-term place to live while the house is rebuilt.

“We’re just going to get through the week and through Christmas and take a little time to get our heads together,” Candy said.