Help Two Chicks Tasty Treats Reopen

We are Heather Kramer and Amy Mathews, owners of Two Chicks Tasty Treats, located in Lake County, CA. Our joy is creating delicious goodies for our community, including pastries (pecan sticky buns, fruit scones, cinnamon rolls, muffins), seasonal pies (fresh pumpkin, blackberry, apple, etc), custom cakes and cupcakes, quick breads (apple coffee cake, pear bread, banana bread), cookies, and small-batch artisan jams. In addition, we are one of the few providers in our area who make treats for special dietary needs, such as gluten-free (lemon bars, honey-cashew bars) and vegan (granola, FOCAS bread).

On September 12, 2015 we returned home from selling our treats at our booth at the Kelseyville Farmer's Market late in the afternoon. We noticed a smoke plume up on Cobb Mountain and realized there must be another fire, which filled us with dread as we had recently survived two others: the Rocky Fire and the Jerusalem Grade Fire.

By 6pm, the windows were rattling so hard it felt like we were having an earthquake. Law Enforcement and Fire vehicles driving up and down the crowded road were calling for residents to evacuate immediately. There were hot winds howling and embers flying everywhere. The fire was actually threatening our whole community. In a panic, we grabbed our two cats, our dog and a few important belongings, and piled into our cars. As we crept along in an endless line of vehicles up the hill to the exit, we heard propane tanks explode and watched homes burst into flame. Watching the fireline coming down the hill, it occurred to us that we might not see our house again.

Our initial plan to stay with some friends was thwarted when they called to say their home was threatened and they were being evacuated, too. Stunned, we had no idea what to do next. After a quick discussion, we decided that a shelter might be the only option, but first we headed toward our vet's office (a safe distance away from the fire) to board our cats temporarily where  they would be safe until we could figure out our next steps.

While still at the vet's office, we got a call about someone who had a spare room in their house where we could stay. This woman was an angel who graciously took us in (along with our dog) and gave us a place to stay while we waited for the evacuation notice to be lifted. Finally, after 8 long days of not knowing if our house was still there, we were allowed to return to our community and (we hoped) our home.

We packed the cars with the cats, the dog, and our few belongings, and headed out. Excited to see the house still standing, we pulled into the driveway, overjoyed. That proved to be short-lived, however, when we opened the garage door and water poured out. Initially were were confused, not understanding what we were seeing, stunned into silence. Walking through several inches of standing water (and dodging the drops falling from the ceiling), we entered the house to discover water spraying from a broken pipe under the sink upstairs in the Kitchen. Apparently, when the water was turned back on in our community, the pipes had burst from the pressure and the water had been spraying for over 5 days while we were evacuated. The house was flooded upstairs and down.

Unable to shut off the water at the main ourselves, the local firefighters came and shut the water off for us, but the damage had already been done.  Once our landlord had been notified about what had happened, the disaster recovery teams came in to assess the house for safety.  Due to the amount of water and length of time it had been standing, the house was tagged as unsafe and we were unable to enter.  Our joy at being home changed to frustration as we now had to find somewhere to go until repairs could be completed.

Displaced once again, we had to find a new place to go. Thankfully, we have some very generous friends who opened their home to us and our dog (unfortunately, due to allergies, they could not accommodate our cats).

During this time, our business has been unable to function. We are a Cottage Food Operation certified by the Health Department (which means we create all our tasty treats out of our home), but without a home, our business has come to a standstill.  As the house has been declared unlivable with repairs estimated to take anywhere from 6-9 months, we need to explore every available option, both for a place to live and a place to work.

The extent of the damage done by the Valley Fire, as well as the previous two wildfires, has been enormous. This has created a situation where there are many more families needing homes than there are homes to rent.  Because of this, we began exploring the possibility of purchasing a home, instead of renting, and discovered that we qualified.

An opportunity has presented itself to us in the form of a house that would work for both living and working.  The property will be perfect for us, however, there are some needed repairs and equipment to get us going again.  In an attempt to lower our operating costs, we are working on a larger down payment to keep monthly overhead costs much lower.  

The equipment that must be replaced or added will be:  1 refrigerator, 1 freezer, 1 large sink, 2 dishwashers, and a washer and dryer (plus the cost of installation of these appliances).

There are repairs that need to be paid for, such as; hiring a contractor to finish some of the flooring and painting in the new house.  We are also required to replace the front porch stairs and deck to comply with our lender's requirements for funding, as well as completing the fencing on one side of the property for safety.

Part of getting started again will mean replacing all of the ingredients that were lost during the week-long power outage, evacuation and flood.  The Health Department will require that we re-certify our new home for our Cottage Food Operation permit.

Looking to the near and eventual future...we are looking to raise chickens for eggs to be used in our baking.  Fresh eggs lend a wonderful taste to baked goods, and we are hoping to have extra eggs to sell at the Farmer's Market, where there is a distinct lack of this resource at the current time.  There are modest costs involved in getting started with raising chickens, including a safe coop, fencing, feed, access to water and becoming certified to sell our eggs.

Our goal is to get our family settled and Two Chicks up and running as soon as possible... We need your help to make this happen. Every donation, no matter the amount, is important and will help us reach our goal. Thank you!