The deadly fire happened early Saturday morning in Dos Palos. Family members say 85-year-old Jennieve Granados and her husband, 86-year-old Salvador Granados were killed when their home went up in flames.
Family members say the couple was married for 60 years. They had 15 children and dozens of grandchildren. Family members were all struggling to cope with the loss of two role models.
"I'm going to miss them so much, I want my dad back, and my mom," the victims daughter Rebecca Granados said.
Finding out both her mother and her father died inside their small two bedroom home was just too much for Rebecca Granados.
"I'm just waiting for my dad to come out, my mom to come out and just say, mija I love you and I miss you," Granados said.
Family members say 86-year-old Salvador Granados worked the fields for decades and still loved growing fruit on his land. His wife 85-year-old Jennive stayed busy raising a large family.
"It's just so hard, they were lovely people they were my mom and dad since we were little brought us up, took care of us. Anything we needed they were there for us," Granados said.
Firefighters went to the call at about 1:30 a.m. Saturday. They say the fire traveled fast and the flames were so high they saw the glow from miles away.
"Preliminary investigators show the fire started in the kitchen area," Merced Cal Fire Capt. Jeremy Rahn said.
Relatives say Jennive was in the beginning stages of Alzheimer's disease. Their son Robert Granados, who lives next door tried to rescue them from the burning house but could not.
"The flames looked like they were about more than 10 feet high, "Robert said. " The door was cracked open and I just pushed it with my hand, what came out was the smoke, very thick black smoke."
Family members hope the elderly couple did not go through a lot of pain. Now they want to honor them by keeping their memory alive.
Relatives tell us the couple had two small dogs who survived the flames. They plan on taking them to a local animal shelter. Their son also says there was a smoke detector inside the house. Investigators are looking to pinpoint exactly how the fire started in the kitchen.