Utahns Lending California Fire Victims a Place to Stay

Utahns Lending California Fire Victims a Place to Stay


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Alex Cabrero ReportingOne California family who lost their home won't have to wait for federal assistance, thanks to a family from Heber City. After seeing a story we aired last week from California the Utahns decided they would lend a helping hand. The Bakers had a California vacation planned, but that plan just got more interesting.

It seems like everything but the kitchen sink is being packed for this trip, which may be only because the RV already has one.

Kathy Baker says, "We will pull it with our hands and feet if we have to. This trailer will get down there."

Mike and Kathy Baker are heading to Southern California for a quick vacation. They were planning on spending all their time with family. Instead, most of their time will be spent with strangers.

"It was just the right thing to do," Kathy said.

Last week the Bakers were home in Heber, talking about the Southern California wildfires, when they saw our story about A.J. and Teri Andrus from Dulzura, California. The Andrus family lost their home in the fire just two months after their 10-month-old daughter died from heart complications.

Mike Baker says, "I can't imagine. I don't even know what to compare it to."

So the Bakers made some phone calls and decided that instead of leaving their RV in Heber, they would to tow it to California and let the Andrus family borrow it for as long as they needed a place to stay.

"We had been getting ready to winterize the trailer, and when I saw the fires I thought, ‘That's really dumb, because it's just gonna sit here, and somebody needs it, somebody who doesn't have a home any more," Kathy explains.

A.J. Andrus is ecstatic. He can't believe strangers are going to help his family out. He says this will give his family a place to stay while they rebuild.

They're complete strangers who are soon to be close friends.

"I'm sure we'll get to know them well, and they'll get to know us and be an extension of our family," Mike says.

The Andrus family told us they're planning to rebuild on their property. It's just a matter of getting some help, which, thanks to the Bakers, they're now getting.

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