Notes of support pour in for elderly couple who started Carr fire

A couple whose flattened trailer tire reportedly started the massive Shasta County blaze has received hundreds of cards and letters with supportive messages telling them not to feel guilty.|

REDDING - A couple whose flattened trailer tire reportedly started the massive Carr fire in Shasta County has received hundreds of cards and letters with supportive messages telling them not to feel guilty.

The outpouring of support for an 81-year-old man and his wife started after Rachel Pilli posted a message Sunday on Facebook offering to forward compassionate messages to the couple.

Pilli tells the Record Searchlight in Redding, she has received hundreds of cards, letters and gifts and they keep coming.

Pilli doesn't know the couple but says a firefighter who knows them told her the woman blames herself and cries day and night.

Fire officials say the blaze that destroyed nearly 1,100 homes and killed eight people started with a spark from a vehicle driving on a flat tire.

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