Woman killed in Merced County house fire, deputies say

MERCED COUNTY, Calif. (KFSN) -- A woman has died after a mobile home fire in Merced County early Thursday morning.

The fire broke out around 2 am at a property just east of Los Banos on Turner Island Road near Henry Miller Avenue.

A second person who lived in the home made it out safely.

Now, only charred beams and rubble remain at the mobile home, which is a complete loss.

The coroner's office says it was a woman who died in the fire.

Neighbors tell Action News she lived there with her husband for the past couple of years.

"She was a good person, she was a loving person, she loved us like we loved her," said Blanca Campos, a neighbor.

Campos is still in shock over the woman's death.

She says when she woke up to the fire a few homes down, she was hoping her friend wasn't there.

"I wanted to try to help her and save her but it was just impossible," Campos explained. "I felt really hopeless because I couldn't help and she didn't deserve it."

Now, she says all the community can do is try to help the family.

"Pray for them, and hope for them, hope that we can help them and whatever way the family," Campos said.

Francisco and Celia Antunes, who live nearby, heard a boom outside their window and saw the flames coming from the home.

Sheriff Vern Warnke says detectives are determined to answer the many questions that remain.

"The person that was in the fire that did escape has talked to a deputies and investigators to try and put together the pieces of the events that occurred before during and after," said Warnke.

CAL FIRE and as the Merced County Sheriff's Office are investigating the cause of the fire and trying to determine exactly how the woman died.

Stay with ABC30 for the latest details on this developing story.

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