POWELL (AP) - Life as Kathy Leonhardt knew it changed forever on Oct. 27, 2007.

That day was when the Super 8 Motel in Powell burned, killing Rhonda Cox of Chugwater and sending five people, including Cox's husband, Don, to Powell Valley Hospital.

Leonhardt, who managed the motel, wasn't there when the motel caught on fire in the early-morning hours that Saturday, but she felt its impact more keenly than most. The events of that day and the weeks and months that followed are seared into her memory.

In her mind's eye, "I can see everything," she said. "I can tell you things like it was us a few weeks ago. It's so fresh - everything we did, the contacts we made. It was a trauma in my own life."

Managing the motel was more than just a job for Leonhardt.

"I loved the work that I did," she said. "I love taking care of people. Even the grumpy ones who would come in, or people who tried to be stinkers - I adored them.

"It wasn't just a job, and they weren't just people. The motel was my social life, my home life, everything."

So, when her guests and employees were hurt or traumatized by the fire, Leonhardt took it very personally.

"My heart took responsibility for those people," she said. "I had sadness in seeing these people, in knowing that Mrs. Cox had passed away. In the (mobile) command center, I remember sitting down, and I just bawled my head off. I felt terrified."

Even though the motel had burned, Leonhardt's hardest work was just beginning.

That work included making alternative housing arrangements for displaced guests, locating and returning belongings to people and working with the insurance company and investigators. She set up an office in her house, where "I worked the whole time," she said.

But the hurt continued.

Though she'd overcome other difficulties in her life, "with the fire, it was too big," she said. "I couldn't get over it. I couldn't fix the people. My heart hurt."

Her parents did what they could to support her, but the hurt and the trauma continued unabated.

"About two days after the fire, I couldn't sleep, I couldn't eat. I was crying, and I had nightmares. I couldn't function, and I was in misery. I couldn't face everything. I just wanted to die."

In desperation, Leonhardt called her ex-husband, Danny.

"I told him, `I need help,"' she said.

The couple had divorced two years ago, but he didn't hesitate to answer Kathy's call for help.

"Within two hours, he was there, cooking for us, making sure the kids had their homework done," Leonhardt said. "When the nightmares came, he would hold me. He would say, `You're OK. Everything will be OK.'

"He came in every night after working at the ranch. He would take care of us, answer my cell phone and the home phone. He helped me work with the insurance company.

"What a rock. He is just forgiving and kind."

As hard as it was, the experience helped Leonhardt to see her ex-husband in a different light. The couple now is back together, and they plan to marry again.

Their six children also pulled together to help and support their mother.

Leonhardt also marvels at the support provided by the community, from emergency responders to people who provided food, housing and support for those affected by the fire.

"Everyone was so kind to me," she said. "I don't know how I could have done it without them."

But she still struggles to deal with the hard things as well.

"I think of Mr. Cox about every day," she said.

She continues to go to counseling to deal with the heartache and loss she feels over the fire tragedy.

"They said, This wasn't your fault. You didn't create it.'

"The logical part of me understands that, but my heart says, `You should be able to fix them."'

While she is doing better now, "I get tired faster," she said.

As manager of the motel, Leonhardt worked to help get it remodeled and ready to open. The owners spared no expense in rebuilding the motel, making it more beautiful and safer than it had been before, she said.

"It's very pretty now, very nice," she said.

The motel now has an integrated fire and smoke alarm system and a sprinkler system. The old motel had neither, though it was equipped with working smoke alarms.

Leonhardt thought getting the motel up and operating again would help heal her heart and put the trauma of the fire behind her. But she found it did not.

"Every time a siren goes off, I (would) think, is that us? Is there a fire in the motel? It's too stressful," she said.

With lingering stress, Leonhardt resigned after helping hire a replacement manager. Now, she's looking for a new direction for her life. She's considering going back to school to find that direction, or she might apply for a different job.

"I love taking care of people, so that's what I'll be focusing on, but not in the motel business," she said.

"My life changed a year ago. I won't let it be for the worse. My priorities are different. Life is too precious not to take care of it. I don't want to miss any of it. I just pray that I find the right path where I need to be."