Camp Fire survivors on Central Coast still facing hurdles six months later
Survivors of California’s deadliest wildfire are still trying to rebuild their lives six months after they were uprooted.
After the fire, survivor Janette Murray was faced with the tough decision of moving to Idaho with the rest of her family or staying in California.
She was diagnosed with POTS (postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome), which impacts the body’s circulation, before the fire and decided to stay close to her specialists at Stanford Medical Center.
She moved to Santa Cruz County, the only other place she’s called home, but getting to this point has been far from easy.
Murray’s health conditions have gotten worse due to stress, and at the same time she’s also had to try to start her new life.
Back in December, Murray purchased a trailer, and the owner told her it was move-in ready, but several days after that purchase, she found out that wasn’t the case.
She says when the first rain hit after she purchased it, the roof began to leak. After getting it inspected she had to pour an additional $10,000 in to it to fix the molding and rotted roof.
“As soon as my friend turned on the light water started pouring down. Turned out the damage was a lot more extensive and when they took the rubber roof off there was about 6 to 8 feet of the plywood portion of the roof that was completely rotted and had black mold, the installation was disintigrated, it was a nightmare,” said Murray.
Now, six months after the fire and four months after her purchase, she’s finally getting her trailer delivered.
Eventhough this is a sigh of relief, Murray said the memories of the fire still haunt her, “
“The dreams are intense, I mean even in the dreams I can feel the heat and wake up in a sweat. There are things that trigger you that you’re not even going to think about, like the smell of a fire. Even if it’s in a fire place and completely controlled, the first second you smell it, something just gets you.”
She says she’s spent every penny on her new home, but rather than looking at it as losing everything in Paradise, Murray is choosing to stay positive with the mindset this is her new beginning in Santa Cruz County.
If you would like to help Murray here are several links, including her and her pets Amazon wishlist:
https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/2Q0NKT5ANCPU1?ref_=wl_share
https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/PB5P6KP6VPJD?ref_=wl_share
