Five King City families permanently displaced after trailer park fire
Five families in King City may be homeless soon, after a fire destroyed everything they own. Now city leaders are trying to find shelter for them and are pleading with the public for help. Some people are still without gas and electricity on Wednesday night.
On Wednesday, the property manager tells NewsChannel 5 a health inspector gave the remaining 16 units the all clear. But the city feels its still potentially dangerous for people to living on the property, because the only gas line has been shut off.
“People like me, you know, I depend on what the government gives us, because I’m a single mom,” said victim Jessica Bedolla.
Bedolla and her kids have a place to stay until Thursday morning with help from the American Red Cross. The Red Cross said its standard to help victims for three nights. But now that help is running out, the city said there’s 13 kids and seven adults who may become homeless.
“We’ve run into a really comes situation where five units burned down, but there’s now 21 units that have no gas,” said Mayor Rob Cullen.
Three people were hurt in the trailer park fire in Sunday in the 900 block of Broadway Street. Bedolla said her kids got help from a friend.
“My son was asleep on the couch and he didn’t want to wake up and so he just grabbed him and that just gave them enough time to get out,” Bedolla said
Bedolla said her burned up car used to put a roof over her head and two of her kids when they were homeless.
“The only thing that I did have is gone. You know I’m being told that everything was caused by negligence of the person that was living in the trailer two. But it’s not the truth,” Bedolla said.
Cullen said trailer parks are monitored by the state and aren’t required to follow city code. A state inspector is working to figure out if the property was safe beforehand.
“Determining what shape the trailer park is in, there’s the obvious stuff that needs to get fixed. But they’re doing a full assessment to see what other potential things need to be improved or changed,” Cullen said.
The property manager explained PG&E is scheduled to come out on Thursday to start working on the gas line. Mayor Cullen said it could take as long as two weeks to get the gas fixed.
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How to donate:
Financial donations can be made at Rabobank under the Salvation Army account.
Clothing is also being sought. City officials say the children are mostly set, but the parents are in desperate need.
For more information about what specific clothing is needed and where to drop it off, click here.
