The community has come together to help a Whitehorse family whose van was destroyed by a fire last November.

Some $16,000 has been raised to help the Yuill family buy a new wheelchair-accessible van for their eight-year-old son, Lucas.

The boy has cerebral palsy which affects all four of his limbs.

"They are such a hard-working family and need a break,” Lori Fraser, who has spearheaded the fund-raising campaign since the accident, said in an interview last Friday.

"No one understands what they go through every day.”

More than $5,000 was raised though a silent auction. The rest of the money came together from two fund-raisers —a church concert and a karaoke party at the Boiler Room at the Yukon Inn — and private donations.

The Yuills have been driving a mini-van with a hydraulic lift they rented from a Yukoner for $2 since the fire.

The family is looking at purchasing a new van with a spring-loaded conversion, which costs $22,000 alone. The conversion would allow Lucas to enter and exit the vehicle easily in his wheelchair.

Corinna Yuill, Lucas' mother, explained that anything with hydraulics or electronics often have problems on cold winter days.

The new conversion will be built into their new Dodge minivan, which is coming from Ontario.

It's still unknown how the van fire started that Saturday morning in mid-November. Temperatures were hovering around -30 C, and Corinna did not notice anything amiss until she saw flames coming from the idling Dodge Caravan.

The blaze also destroyed Lucas' walker. It was replaced early this month.

Corinna thanked everyone for "opening their hearts” since the mishap.

Donations are still being accepted. Fraser can be reached at 633-6164 for more information.