Remaining optimistic: River Fire victims begin to look at rebuilding
When Chicago Park resident Porfirio “Pete” Reyna first heard about the River Fire, he was working a job site in Walnut Creek.
“I seen the plume from the Bay Area, it looked like a volcanic eruption,” Reyna said.
“You know when you get one of those feelings? I seen a giant plume of smoke and knew it was my house,” Reyna added. “I got there just in time to watch my property burn.”
Reyna lost everything he owned Wednesday night in the River Fire.
Aside from losing his recently purchased home, he lost a $75,000 Dodge Hellcat, a $35,000 El Camino, a Denali truck, a car hauler, a race boat, an AR-15, antiques and more.
Reyna makes his living as a contractor, and has already purchased a new truck and tools for a job he has just started working on in Reno.
“I got my dog, I’m safe, I got my family. Yeah, I lost a dwelling, but I didn’t lose a part of me. My stuff doesn’t make me. I make me,” Reyna said.
Having been recently divorced, with many possessions left over from his previous relationship, also made it easier for Reyna to let go when the River Fire burned his property.
Read the full article here!