WAUCHULA, Fla. — Twisted metal and debris are all that's left at a Wauchula apartment where one building caught fire, likely caused by Hurricane Ian’s wind gusts impacting power lines, ripped through the rental unit.
Now, families at Valencia Gardens apartments are trying to figure out what's next after their possessions were reduced to rubble and ash.
“I just try to laugh to try to keep from like, not letting it overwhelm me,” George Toledo, a father who lost his home in the fire, said.
As the storm cleared and neighbors processed the loss of everything from irreplaceable photo albums to beloved pets…they are now facing the challenge of quickly finding new homes during a housing crisis.
"Everybody's scrambling to find somewhere to live, so it's very difficult," Toledo said.
Those who lost their homes say help has been slow to come by, but that neighbors have stepped in to do what they can.
People from the building next to the destroyed units had their own smoke and water damage from the storm and fire, saying the power was out at the apartment complex for six days.
"We had to throw away a lot of food," Tomeka Rodriguez, who lives in the building next to the burned down apartments, said.
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But even with little to no food, no power, and rent/electricity bills still due…they did whatever they could to keep their community first by quickly heading to a nearby grocery store after hearing that they would have to toss out usable goods.
"Throwing away food that was good, that was still frozen,” Rodriguez said.
Neighbors brought the goods back to the complex, breaking out charcoal grills to cook them immediately so that everyone could have something to eat.
"Everyone just came and got a plate,” said Peter Horrobin, who lost his home in the fire. “I love this community…they give what they can even though they ain’t got much, because they ain’t have power for a week…they are like my angels.”