Terry O'Brien lost everything when the West Fire tore through Old West Ranch Tuesday afternoon.
"I was running when the fire hit," O'Brien said.
Now the ardous task of rebuilding what the fire stole begins. O'Brien is living in a motorhome he bought for 'dirt cheap', and trying to clear out truckloads of ash and melted metal that was once his former home.
O'Brien is one of the few in the neighborhood who had homeowners insurance. Most others, like Bruce Berson, couldn't afford to get it.
Berson lost his home of more than 25 years and his two dogs to the fire. Just four months ago, his wife passed away and he is now the sole caretaker of his adult son who is blind and autistic and grew up at the Old West Ranch home. Berson wants to rebuild.
"I don't know where to start," Berson said. He said he needs a trailer or mobilehome to put on the property to get started, but he is out of work, needs to take care of his son, and cannot afford one.
"Most people here are fiercy independent, so I think all that can come back will come back," resident Trace Robey said.
