You have given us hope!
Randy and Lisa rebuild after the Camp Fire in Paradise California
Anticipation is high with Randy and Lisa as their new home takes shape in Paradise. They are about halfway through their home rebuilding project with Hope Crisis Response Network (HCRN), one of IRT’s partners. We chatted with them as they were painting their house recently and talked about looking forward to seeing their home completed. Randy said, “I’m waiting to sit in my recliner there in the living room. We’ve been going non-stop since the fire.” Lisa said, “I’m looking forward to the bathtub, I need a bathtub so bad. I’ve been taking showers; military showers and I just want to soak in a tub.”
Although homeowners are not required to work on their home rebuild, this was a week when volunteers were not available, and the couple wanted to continue working on the house, so they took the painting as a challenge for themselves. They have been working on their property since the fire and have put in a garden area with seating and a small waterfall feature. They’ve planted some fruit trees, but they mention missing the giant pines that were taken out by the fire.
Randy and Lisa have been living on their property in an RV since 2019. “We knew we wanted to rebuild,” Randy said, “we just didn’t know how it was going to happen. Finding out HCRN could help was so amazing!”. They had just signed the paperwork to start building the house when Randy was diagnosed with cancer. He’s completed all his treatments and is in good health now.
“You have given us hope!” They talked about the volunteers and all the work they have done and how great it has been to work with them. The generosity of donors and volunteers is the reason that Randy and Lisa will have a home. You make this work possible. Thank you for supporting the work to help wildfire survivors!
“The IRT volunteers who framed the house were some of the best people we have ever worked with. They worked extremely hard and were all having a good time. It made the work go so fast and they were a lot of fun,” said Randy.
As we wrapped up our visit, Randy looked out over the canyon and the view that they did not have before the fire. “It was a beautiful place before the fire and hopefully it will be beautiful again. We can’t imagine living anywhere but Paradise.”
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