Residents still without power after fire tears through Santa Nella mobile home park

MERCED COUNTY, Calif. (KFSN) -- People living in a small Merced County community are still without power after a fire destroyed electric equipment over the weekend.

"Something like this, it's hard, yeah, it's very hard," said Paul Martinez, a resident of Santa Nella Mobile Home Community.

On Saturday, a fire destroyed several mobile homes on Mercury Street near Comet Road.

A neighbor's Ring camera captured the moment the flames tore through a nearby shed.

The fire destroyed electric equipment, leaving more than a dozen homes in the heat without power.

Martinez says he is able to prepare food for his family because he borrowed a power cord from his neighbor.

"We don't have enough money to spend every day on food outside. We need to do something more cheap for us," said Martinez.

Martinez and several other neighbors tell Action News they are scared to leave their house because home burglaries have become more common.

But less than a half a mile away, relief there is some relief for residents.

"Those are our children, those are our sisters, brothers, mothers, aunts, uncles, like we need to help them. It breaks my heart to see them suffering right now," said Shannon Cook, sales director of Mission Hotel De Oro.

Mission Hotel De Oro Sales Director Shannon Cook says the hotel is offering free accommodation to families who have been displaced or are without power.

"We are part of the Santa Nella community, and if we can provide that service for our people, we're here to help," said Cook.

Cook says they are not getting reimbursed by an organization or County program.

People living without power said they expected more help and urgency from Merced County.

Action News reached out to the county to ask how they plan to help the people of Santa Nella.

They sent over a statement that says, in part,

"Our hearts are with those affected by the fire in the Santa Nella Mobile Home Community, which has left many without power. There is a short-term solution in the works to restore power, and rapid progress is being made by all agencies involved."

Part of that short-term solution is to provide a generator as soon as possible to supply power to those who need it most.

For its part, PG&E says it has been assisting the county, and they say that they are ready to reconnect the neighborhood to the grid as soon as the property owner repairs their electrical equipment.

"It's almost been a week, and we've seen very little to no progress."

For Jacquelyn Bejar, living without power has become physically painful.

"I mean, it's 111 (degrees), I get rashes, I have eczema, so it flares up pretty bad," said Bejar.

As she holds onto hope during the hot weather, she and many of her neighbors need help now.

The county couldn't say when that generator would be in place.

They add that County Human Services has worked with more than 50 people who were impacted by the fire or are currently without power.

For news updates, follow Vince Ybarra on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.