The family of Oscar winning actress Jennifer Lawrence has experienced a massive tragedy at the family farm, home to a summer camp in Kentucky. Camp Hi Ho, in Simpsonville was the victim of a massive fire over the weekend. It destroyed large portions of the camp, but Lawrence's brother, Blaine, who was the owner and manger of the camp has promised to rebuild, though he is asking for help to do so.
The fire took place on the evening of November 27 and according to TMZ, the primary loss at the camp was the main barn. However, that barn was a multi-purpose location, which included both office space and a personal apartment used by the family. It also included a lot of camp space, including horse stalls, an indoor riding area, a rock wall for climbing, a wildlife display, and arts and crafts space, farm equipment, and a nurse's station. The cause of the fire is currently unknown but is under investigation.
While the loss of the barn certainly meant a major loss for the summer camp, there's still a lot that remained intact, including sports fields, outdoor riding trails, a lake, and more. In addition, no humans or animals were lost in the fire, which is a wonderful thing to hear.
Despite the losses, the hope is that Camp Hi Ho will be able to open for the summer of 2021. To that end, he's asking for donations, as well as income from signups for next summer's camp, which can be put toward rebuilding what was lost.
On the camp's Facebook page where the fire is conformed, dozens of well wishes are posted from families that attend, or used to attend, Camp Hi Ho. It certainly seems to have been well loved, and the events that the lost barn hosted were especially precious. However, with enough support the barn can certainly be rebuilt, and perhaps it can be done even better than ever.
A handful of photos have shown Jennifer Lawrence herself at the summer camp, so she wasn't a complete stranger around the place, which appears to have been in the Lawrence family for quite some time. Perhaps the actress will lend some of her star power to the building effort in an attempt to draw attention to the fundraising.
It's certainly heartbreaking to hear of such a major loss. Especially one that isn't just a loss for the owners of the summer camp, but all the kids who visit it every year and find joy in the sorts of activities many might not otherwise have a chance to be part of. Hopefully, the rebuilding effort can start quickly and everything will be back to normal, or perhaps even better than before, when Camp Hi Ho opens for kids next summer.
