BYERS, Colo. — The small community of Byers came together to help a family whose home was destroyed by a tornado.
That family is trying to save what they could from that home on Saturday.
A relative of the family said, “It’s heartbreaking. We’re all devastated but I Know God has a plan.”
That plan is still hard to imagine for a 13-year-old Saul Chairez who lived in the home.
Fighting back tears, Chairez said, “I mean like heartbreaking, yeah.”
Saul Chairez’s home was in the path of a tornado that tore through this countryside outside Byers.
It ripped the roof off. Debris was strewn across the fields. A grandmother barely made it out alive.
Chairez said “Well, she was in the first living room closing all the windows and then she came over here to this living room trying to close the windows and by the time she got to the kitchen, she says that everything was pitch black.”
Daylight this day showed the devastation.
Lupita Renteria said, “Today we just did a lot of cleaning up and just trying to salvage whatever we can, mostly pictures.”
When neighbors and the people of Byers heard what happened, strangers lined up to help the Chairez’s.
The family said within an hour of the damage someone brought a tarp and were helping the family get back on its feet.
They couldn’t thank those volunteers enough. The home is covered up now, but unlivable.
The family has insurance and is staying with relatives. They are not sure when they’ll be able to have their own home again.
by Vincente Arenas (2018, July 28)
