Even though the bulldozers have been idled by snow, the survivors of the Oregon Trail Fire in East Boise are slowly moving on with their lives.

For several families, that means staying put.

A walk through the neighborhood on a snowy December afternoon revealed homes in various stages of construction and vacant lots cleared of debris where homes used to stand.

The Nelsons' new home is still a vision, but a cement floor has already been laid in what will be the basement. It's curing under a few inches of snow.

The Linville-Thurbers' new home is just about finished, and they plan to move in by the end of January.

"Everyone's family is different," said Patty Wagstaff, a neighbor who has been coordinating help for the families since the fire.

The Oregon Trail Fire on Aug. 25 killed one woman, destroyed 10 houses and severely damaged nine others.

The Coopers were expected to move into their home last week, Wagstaff said, but the Hallamores have decided that for many reasons they're not going to rebuild the home they lost.

For Glen and Sue Nelson, it's learning how to build a house all over again.

Ten years ago when they built their home on Immigrant Pass Court, city codes were different, Sue Nelson said. Their circumstances were also different.

"We didn't have the kids then," Sue Nelson said. This time, "it's going to be a better floor plan for our life the way it is."

The Nelsons began raising their grandchildren when the kids were just months old. Now Jaydyn, 8, and Tristin, 9, are students at Trail Wind Elementary School.

Sue Nelson's 89-year-old mother still lives in Atlanta, Idaho, where Sue was born, but she stays with the family often. In the new home, she'll have her own room and bathroom.

"She enjoys the kids so much," Nelson said.

Ironically, the Nelsons had moved Sue's family antiques from Atlanta to Boise after a wildfire came dangerously close to her mother's home.

"I loved my antiques. They were my mom's, my grandmother's," Nelson said. "We gathered up a lot of stuff to protect it from forest fires, and it all burned up" in the Oregon Trail Fire.

Christopher and Mindy Lee are renting a home down the street from the one they lost on Sweetwater Drive. They expect a six-month building process that will start when it warms up.

So far they've been able to complete a rock wall along the rim of their property.

"Now we'll have a backyard," said Christopher Lee. "We'll have a defensible space."

For Christmas this year, the Lee's five kids are buying each other their favorite item that was destroyed by the fire.

"We're not going overboard for Christmas," Lee said. "Our kids have been very patient. We haven't replaced everything yet."

One thing they have replaced is their artificial Christmas tree. Anonymously, a box of Christmas decorations appeared on their doorstep.

"It's been humbling how thoughtful and kind people have been to us," Lee said.

The Linville-Thurbers are in the final stages of rebuilding on the site of their former home on Sweetwater Drive.

Brooke Linville and Dan Thurber decided to build a five-bedroom house, with a permanent guest bedroom and no fireplace.

"We had a three-bedroom house before, and we had talked about expanding that house because it didn't fit the needs for our plans for our family," said Linville, who would like to have three or four children. "We wanted to rebuild something we could grow into."

Linville and Thurber plan to spend Christmas in the new home so their baby, Kellen, can experience his first Christmas there. They'll move the Christmas tree from the house they're renting to the new one on Christmas Eve, along with the holiday food.

Linville lost her lifetime collection of Christmas ornaments in the fire. As a kid, she had picked out an ornament from Hallmark every year that symbolized the year for her. She wants to do the same for Kellen.

"I love Christmas, and I have always loved Christmas," Linville said. "This year has been very difficult for me. It doesn't feel the same."

Bethann Stewart: 377-6393