Fire destroys Portales home

A house fire last week left a Roosevelt County mother and son without possessions.

Angela Lopez, 57, and her son Richie Zambrano, 31, were awakened early Thursday morning to a fire in their home that would quickly take over everything.

Zambrano said he was sleeping around 2:30 a.m. when his mom came in to wake him up and told him to get out of their double-wide mobile home west of Portales.

Zambrano said, "We just woke up to a fire and from there, we tried to get out." He said he tried to do everything he could to protect the home by pouring water on the flames, but it quickly spread to the roof. Zambrano said it was all a "big adrenaline rush" and that he felt like he was stuck in a dream.

Portales Fire Chief T.J. Cathey told The News the Portales Fire Department was requested at approximately 3:05 a.m. and arrived in 10 minutes. The fire was under control at 5 a.m.

Cathey said the cause of the fire is still being investigated. Zambrano said he thinks it started from the furnace inside the home. "It spread within minutes," he said.

Zambrano lives with his mom to take care of her, and he said this has all been hard on her.

"She's been waking up crying every morning," he said.

His mom hasn't worked in about four years, and the family has been in that same house since about 2010, according to Zambrano.

They had two cats in the home, and Zambrano said one of them survived by hiding under the bed but is clearly traumatized from the situation. He said he's still trying to find the other cat in all the rubble.

"I'm trying to clean all of this up," Zambrano said. Right now, he and his mom are staying with his aunt, but they aren't sure what the future looks like for them.

A GoFundMe page has been set up for Lopez and Zambrano. It may be found at gofund.me/d708b142 .

There is also a bank account set up at Wells Fargo in Portales under Angela Lopez.

Zambrano said the family needs clothing, food, and drinks.