Rachael Ray has "learned nothing but gratitude" following her devastating house fire.
The 51-year-old celebrity chef’s home on Chuckwagon Trail in Lake Luzerne, New York, was engulfed in a big blaze last month, and she has now said that whilst the experience of losing her home has been "overwhelming", she’s trying to "stay mindful and positive".
She said: "It’s overwhelming, but you have to stay mindful and positive and it’s remarkable how many people come out in your community and your friends and your viewers – we all have a bigger circle than we know.
"We’ve learned nothing but gratitude. We lost our home and I just can’t tell you how important it is to listen to your first responders."
The blaze started after Rachael lit a fire in the fireplace, and the state Office of Fire Prevention and Control later determined that the fire was accidental, caused by an animal that had burrowed inside the chimney.
Rachael managed to make it out of the house with her husband John Cusimano and their puppy, and says their lives were saved by a passerby who alerted them to the fire spreading across their roof.
She explained: "A few minutes after we started the fire in the fireplace a fellow came through the backyard screaming ‘your roof’s on fire’. We ran outside and sure enough it was. By the time I’d gone upstairs to determine what we could save, I could hear the fire crackling through the walls and building and because of my work with the Denis Leary Firefighter [Foundation] and training over several years with actual first responders I knew to leave immediately."
The chef also revealed her mother lives in a home close by, and said she feels thankful the fire didn’t spread to other properties.
She added: "My mom actually lives across the street and we were just so thrilled the fire didn’t come down the hill and wipe out her home."
And despite the hardship that has followed since the loss of her home, Rachael says she feels "so much stronger" thanks to her fans.
Speaking during an appearance on ‘Good Morning America’, she said: "We feel so much stronger and together with our viewers because we’ve been able to share all of these really personal experiences and these huge arcs in our lives and we feel a part of things even though we’re so far away.
"We have so much to be grateful for. We’re still here."