BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Pamela Gomez said her son, Landon, died at four years old, leaving her with his belongings and memories tucked away at her home in Frazier Park.
However, these mementos turned to ashes when her house caught on fire.
Now, she's left to pick up the pieces, mourning the loss of her home for the past four years while cherishing what still remains.
Glass shards cover the ground, and book pages scattered across the rubble, singed around the edges. The roof and solar panel– caved in to what used to be a family home.
“Everything I owned for 29 years of living is reduced to a box and a duffel bag,” said Pamela Gomez, who owned this Frazier Park home.
She was preparing to enter a new chapter, starting a new job in San Jose.
But one night while Gomez was out of town, she woke up to a phone call from her friend, Tracy Broderick, who lives down the street— a call that rapidly changed her life.
“We don’t know how the fire started,” said Broderick. “We heard that there were some booms. She wasn’t present at the time when it did happen.”
23ABC Neighborhood Reporter Avery Elowitt asked Gomez, “After everything happened, what was going through your mind?”
She replied, “Just everything is gone.”
This house was more than a home.
“... Her son, when he was four, he was part of a wrongful death due to a faulty mechanic shop,” says Broderick. “And at four years old he passed away in a car accident due to this. So she had a settlement and she bought this house outright with the money from the settlement.”
All burnt to a crisp– except for the corner of a dresser in her bedroom, which contained pictures of her, her family, and her late son.
“I just can’t believe that every single one is okay,” said Gomez. “... a lot of these I can’t replace. And like his book from his funeral, that was okay… It’s a little crispy, but it’s still intact. There’s my little baby.”
As Gomez grieves the loss of her home while balancing her new job across the state, she received a Notice and Order to Abate from Kern County Public Works, which states she has until July 30 to repair or remove the “public nuisance.”
“That’s not a lot of time to clean all of this up… I don’t know where to take burnt wood and metal,” said Gomez.
Jacob Clayton, the Code Compliance supervisor with Kern County Public Works, says the notice is intended to help start the cleanup process.
“How do I get rid of this debris? Where do I start? Do I need permits? That’s what is really important about that contact,” said Clayton.
But it's possible Gomez might be able to get an extension from the county code compliance.
“It’s more or less contact,” said Clayton. “Get us in contact with that property owner, so we can help them navigate whatever direction it takes them.”
Gomez says, “I don’t really know what to do. I don’t really have like a support system of my own.”
With only 30 days to clear her property, Gomez looks for the community’s support as she enters a new stage of her life.
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