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From Palisades to Pisgah: family rebuilds life in WNC after devastating fire loss

<i>WLOS via CNN Newsource</i><br/>A California couple
WLOS via CNN Newsource
A California couple

By Justin Berger

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    TRANSYLVANIA COUNTY, North Carolina (WLOS) — A California couple who lost their home in the Palisades Fire less than a month ago is calling Transylvania County home for the time being.

Sarah and Benjamin Treger evacuated their Palisades home with their two kids and dogs when the order was given.

Their house was tucked away several blocks from the mountains in the Alphabet Streets neighborhood.

“It was just a really magical place,” Sarah said.

Benjamin, a lifelong Californian, said he didn’t expect the flames to make it down to their neighborhood, let alone their home.

“I was convinced we’d be back and I, deliberately, had a number of my grandfathers watches in my hand and I was like, ‘I don’t need this in the next few days — I’ll be back in a few days; I’ll just put it back down,'” he said.

Their home burned to the ground with many of almost all of their belongings, with the family managing to walk through the rubble on Jan. 9.

“There is an overwhelming need to see your home burned to the ground, to like know,” Sarah said. “It doesn’t feel real — it feels like you’re watching a movie or something.”

A few days later their family was on a flight to Asheville.

Sarah said she had previously lived in the area for almost a decade, going to Brevard College to be near the forest.

“I always say, ‘Pisgah has my heart,'” she said.

The Tregers knew they wanted to also be a part of the community in WNC, so they bought a home in Pisgah Forest two years ago.

“We looked at each other and we were like — what are the [odds] these are two small, very specific areas [are affected] and it’s very surreal that we’re connected deeply to both,” Sarah said.

A week after Helene hit, they flew from California to Asheville to check on their home and to be there for friends.

Luckily, a small mudslide was the only damage to their property following recent tree removals.

“The trees we had cut down were two big pines that were dead and leaning this way [towards the house],” Sarah said.

Their oldest child, who is almost two years old, is fine with the cross-country move and his new preschool, according to his parents.

“[The school] let us in even though they were full because they heard about our situation,” Sarah said. “He calls it ‘Forest School’ and he goes —every day he wakes up and he goes to Forest School, so he’s having a blast.”

The family said they have seen the destruction in Asheville’s River Arts District and Biltmore Village, even walking through the rubble of their Palisades family home.

“At a certain point, you’re just like, ‘Nature is powerful,'” Benjamin said. “It’s humbling, very humbling.”

The Tregers plan to eventually return to California although they do not yet have a timeline.

They said they have good moments and bad, but choose to be optimistic.

“Pretty quickly we moved to just focusing on the things we have to be grateful for and we had a place to come here and not just a house, a community,” Sarah said.

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