Fire, followed by theft, for newlyweds

Sam said, “The break-in for me has been way more emotional, just because of that vibe of —” and Colton finished the thought: “Taking advantage of someone who’s down.”

Colton’s twin sister Kelsey set up a gofundme titled “Help Colton & Sam Rebuild Their Lives.”

The Smiths, who married Nov. 22, met at college. Colton’s degree is in grape growing and winemaking, and Sam heads up hospitality at a Napa Valley winery.

Six months ago, Colton began managing the historic Graves vineyard in Dallesport for owner Dave Griffith, and also began making his own wine. The vineyard has nine acres of Rone and Bordeaux varietals.

While Sam splits her time between here and California, Colton worked with his in-laws, Scott and Betsy Hege, on the vineyard, including refashioning a boat garage into a winery.

Sam had just arrived from California on Dec. 15 and at about 2:30 a.m. on Dec. 16, they woke feeling hot. Colton went outside, saw flames on the roof and quickly assembled hoses and started fighting fire.

Fire crews from Dallesport, Mid-Columbia Fire & Rescue and Klickitat Valley fire responded quickly, but the 2,250-square foot home was a total loss. The fire started in the chimney. The Smiths had renters insurance.

What they could salvage went into two locked outbuildings. But then early on Dec. 19, thieves rifled through those buildings. Stolen was a bunch of “prize possession” heirloom tools — like drills and wrenches — that were handed down to Colton, winemaking equipment, their passports and their Social Security cards. They even stole a melted, water-damaged TV.

“They were there for a while, which is pretty upsetting,” Colton said. “Knowing they were there at least 45 minutes, with a truck, and multiple people, it’s pretty scary.”

They stole a bottle of fireball whiskey, but couldn’t pack off the 500-pound barrels full of the wine they’d made this summer. They also didn’t take his quad, the key still in it.

Their parents are more devastated than they are, Colton said. Sam’s parents came over that night to help, and Colton’s parents flew up from California to help.

Friends, neighbors and family have all been a great help, they said.

“At the end of the day, we have each other, we have our family and our friends. We were able to get our animals out,” Colton said.

It’s “devastating” that their “hard work has been derailed in a major way,” Colton said.

But now, Colton — a creative, motivated dreamer, Sam says — is more determined than ever to achieve his goal of owning his own vineyard and creating his own label.

“We’re going to continue moving forward because that’s the only option for us,” he said.

The fundraiser can be found at www.gofundme.com/f/help-colton-sam-rebuild-their-lives.