Bend family reaches fundraising goal after devastating house fire

(Update: Family reaches fundraising goal)

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- Clea Ampudia and three family members lost their home to a fire two days before Christmas.

Her daughter, Ana Sanchez, started a GoFundMe page to raise money to help family to get back on their feet.

After just two days, the family received over $12,000 in donations.

Sanchez posted a thank you to all who donated, first responders and everyone who shared their story.

Earlier article

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- It was just two days before Christmas when mother Cleo Ampudia and three family members lost their home to a fire at a southern Bend mobile home park.

NewsChannel 21 was on the scene of the Wednesday evening fire at the Sisters Mobile Home Park on Parrell Road, which destroyed two mobile homes, damaged two others and left the family without a home just before the holiday. 

Ampudia's daughter, Ana Sanchez, said Sunday her mother and those family members are temporarily living with her, as the mobile home they were renting was uninsured -- and they don’t know where they are going to go next.

She said it’s been a shaky year as it is for their family, like it has for so many, as the pandemic has led to a drop in business for their cleaning company.

Not to mention, another family member also struggling to make ends meet, as he works in the troubled restaurant industry. 

"And also, my mom's savings that she had hidden somewhere -- they got burned, everything," she said. "They lost everything. I would say they’re homeless."

Still, during an interview with NewsChannel 21, Sanchez was quick to thank and praise first responders on the scene. 

"It could have gotten way worse, but thanks for first responders that came here so fast and put down the fire,” she said.

And while she's happy that her family made it out unharmed, she said they are struggling to to find a new place to live.

To help further, Sanchez get up a GoFundMe account, to raise money for her family, in hopes that they can move past this nightmare holiday week and start over again.

“It is what it is," she said. "They’re homeless right now. They lost all of their property, all of their belongings."

A Bend Fire official said the damage was too extensive to determine the fire's exact cause, but it's accidental and likely electrical in nature.