CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — A grandmother is working to pick up the pieces after an early morning fire Thursday heavily destroyed her trailer along with other properties.
The woman and her grandchild who was also home at the time made it out safely.
However the family lost two of their dogs.
"I heard this boom and said 'oh my God' and then I saw the flames," said 77-year-old Consuelo Cuevas.
Cuevas is referring to the sound that woke her up around 5 a.m. Thursday morning. According to Nueces County ESD #1, the flames quickly spread to two other nearby homes.
Fire crews worked hard and prevented the two nearby structures from sustaining permanent damage, the department said.
"It's just ashes now and nothing else," Cuevas said.
Decades worth of hard work was destroyed in a matter of minutes. Cuevas took 3NEWS inside one of her homes, a place she made her own and took great pride in over the years.
"I was cleaning and look, very ugly but I'm still here and I have a lot of faith in God," Cuevas said.
However, as Cuevas relies on her faith and her family to help her get through the loss, her family said less than 24 hours after the fire people started to take advantage of her misfortune.
"I came over here, I think they kicked it out to see what it was in here," Cuevas said.
In the aftermath of the fire, her son Eddie noticed that some of her valuables didn't just burn in the fire, but were stolen as well.
"She stayed with us last night and came today to come clean up and noticed they broke in to the back of her house stole a brand new air conditioning and a ceiling fan," Eddie said.
Eddie along with his wife Veronica said they were amazed by her strength and drive to get back on her feet. A quality she's always had well before the tragedy.
"We've seen how hard she's worked the sacrifice she's done for her family and with this so fast we are just thankful she's with us," Veronica said.
Cuevas was able to salvage some pictures and awards from the fire, the items a testament for her decades of commitment to Calallen ISD.
"She's just a hard worker and deserves more and we are here for her," Veronica said.
A GoFundMe has been set up to help the family recover. To view the donation page, click here.
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More from 3News on KIIITV.com:
- 'They are felony charges': Beeville teen locked up for making prank call to 911 about a school threat
- 'Not a non-stop yet': Corpus Christi airport now has direct, but not non-stop, flights to Denver
- 'Decades of neglect': How Corpus Christi leaders are responding to awful street conditions
- At least five incidents of guns on school campuses in the Coastal Bend this school year so far
- Corpus Christi program that serves people with special needs has equipment stolen
Want to send us a news tip?
Put your name and contact information below so we can get in touch with you about your story should we have questions or need more information. We realize some stories are sensitive in nature. Let us know if you'd like to remain anonymous.
If you do not have a photo/video to submit, just click "OK" to skip that prompt.