BEXAR COUNTY, Texas – Six months after the Duke Road fire, scars are still visible.
In early March, the fire destroyed 40 structures just south of Loop 1604 along the Bexar County and Atascosa County line. The fire burned for days, and half a year later, not much has changed.
“This was home,” Celestino Acosta said.
Acosta owned his property on Forest Drive for about 45 years. He said that everything he owned, except for his eight dogs, was lost in the fire.
Now, he lives in a broken Winnebago RV. But he said he’s counting his blessings.
“It’s busted,” Acosta said.
“But you’re grateful for it?” KSAT reporter Avery Everett asked.
“Oh, man,” he said, breaking down in tears. “Yes, ma’am, very grateful.”
Acosta said for about a month after the fire, he was living in a hotel paid for by Bexar County. He said after that support ran out, he started sleeping in his car.
Weeks later, a man driving by donated the trailer.
This is the reality that so many along Duke Road still face.
KSAT first met Luis Narvaez days after the fire. When we saw him and his property on Monday, not much had changed.
“I lost everything,” he said.
“Do you feel like you’re forgotten about?” Everett asked.
“Yes,” he said. “I’m kind of used to that. When I came from Vietnam, we were forgotten soldiers.”
We learned on Monday that the state did file for federal assistance, but only to help put out the fire. That assistance was granted.
But, a spokesperson with the Texas Division of Emergency Management said the estimated damages from the Duke Road fire didn’t meet FEMA’s requirements for individual assistance.
Bexar County helped with temporary housing and food assistance for the first month after the fire through the Bexar County Economic and Community Development.
“I come here every day,” Narvaez said. “I come out here and I pray something happens.”
Narvaez said even though his house was burned to the ground, he still gets water and electricity bills. Sheryl Portman said she’s also been receiving those letters.
“How hard have the last 6 months been for you?” Everett asked.
“Very hard,” she said.
“Where do you find hope?” Everett asked.
“The man upstairs,” Portman said.
A spokesperson for Bexar County said if any family needs more help, they’re asked to reach out to BCECD. TDEM also asked all families affected to fill out the disaster assessment here.
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