Receiving a phone call that your home has been destroyed by a natural disaster is unfathomable news. Former California State University, Sonoma student Mayra Nava received this heartbreaking call last Sunday on Sept. 13.
One of the homes destroyed in the Valley fire was Nava’s home. Her family has had their home there since 2011.
“It was what most people would consider their dream home,” Nava said.
Nava and her family are not alone in this devastating situation. The Sacramento Bee said damages from California’s Valley fire alone, burning in Lake County, have destroyed 585 homes as of Tuesday Sept. 14.
The fire forced Nava’s family to evacuate their home in Middleton, CA on Saturday Sept. 12. That day roads were blocked and some homes were still standing while others had already been lost to the fire.
All Nava could do was sit, wait and watch the news to see if there were any chances her home would remain unharmed by the fire. Due to work, Nava could not return home to be with her family but remained hopeful she would get to come back to an undamaged house.
That chance did not come because all that remained from a once huge, loving and warm family home was a pile of ashes. Everything in the Nava home was lost including furniture, clothes, family keepsakes and family pictures.
Seeing a picture of her once beloved home destroyed internalized the situation for Nava and made the frightening possibility a reality.
Nava’s family business of landscaping took a major hit as well. The work tools and vehicles were destroyed along with the home. As of Sunday, Nava is the only working member of her family.
The Nava family was left homeless and without any personal belongings due to the Valley fire.
“My heart goes out to my community and to my family. This is something that is going to haunt us forever,” Nava said.
Sacramento Bee said in Lake County’s small community of Middleton, over 1,000 homes have been destroyed, also the roads, utility lines, sewer and water facilities also are damaged.