Lifelong Missoula Man Loses Home in Terrifying Explosion and Fire

On Wednesday, January 17, an inner-city Missoula neighborhood was rocked by an explosion caused by a gas leak.

And one man is now left without a home. His daughter and others are helping him figure out where to go and how to start over from here.

Missoula firefighters were called to the scene in the 1400 block of South 4th Street West yesterday afternoon. The explosion could be heard from long distances, and flames soon engulfed the house. Fortunately, there were no injuries to people or pets.The Missoula Fire Department also reports that surrounding structures were safely evacuated.

Randy Oppegaard is a lifelong Missoula resident. The sign in his yard and his logo wear t-shirt are testaments to his loyalty to the University of Montana Grizzlies.

But beyond that, his daughter will testify to what a genuinely good guy Randy is. In her GoFundMe post, Bambi Schreckendgust writes, "Hi, my name is Bambi, the daughter of Randy Oppegaard, known as “Rudy” or “Papa Randy” to our community. Wednesday afternoon, January 17, there was an explosion behind his home from a gas leak, causing a total loss of his residence.

"As a man that would never ask or even take help from anyone, because he is beyond proud, I’m asking. Not knowing where to go from here but to start over. It is my goal to help Papa Randy, who goes out of his way to help others no matter what."

A fundraiser has been set up, and in usual Missoula fashion, a noticeable portion of the desired goal has already been achieved. it would be nice to see if that goal could be shattered by generous folks for a deserving guy. If you would like to be part of the effort to help Papa Randy, you can do that here.

We wish him nothing but the best, and if there are any other fundraisers in the future, we will try to let you know about them.