LAS VEGAS — A homeowner is working to restore his family home after a fire Sunday afternoon near Eastern and Harmon.
James Barrett said he raced home to find firefighters on his roof trying to put out flames. He said a power pole snapped and fell toward his house, which may have caused the fire.
“The pole at the bottom it broke and it fell and that metal thing up there blew up and then something sparked and caught fire to everything over here and it spread to my roof,” Barrett said.
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Neighbors witnessed fire start
Rebecca Garza, who has lived in the neighborhood for more than 40 years, was home when the fire started.
“We heard an explosion. When we ran out, we saw that the pole was coming down. The electrical wires hit the Cabana roof and caught on fire,” Garza said.
Barrett was not home when the fire started. He said firefighters cut into the roof to stop the fire from spreading.
The power pole that snapped has been replaced. Barrett said crews worked overnight into Monday morning to get it fixed.
Long road to recovery
Barrett, 21, said the home has been in his family for generations. The home still smells of smoke and shows damage from the fire.
“There’s just a lot of memories and a lot of work, money, everything put into this house,” Barrett said.
Garza said the family recently lost Barrett’s mother.
“They lost their mother and so now the young man has to grow up and try to fix all of that,” Garza said. “It was very hard, very devastating to see all of that happening.”
Barrett said he is balancing work and finishing school while working to fix his home.
“It’s going to be a lot of money more than I have right now, but I’ll be able to get through it. Just one step at a time,” Barrett said.
“I don’t even know how to explain it properly. It’s just very shocking. I don’t know how to process it other than to put one foot in front of the other,” Barrett said.
Clark County Fire and NV Energy have been contacted for more details surrounding the fire and the snapped power pole.
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