More than $14,000 in donations raised for 2 families who lost homes in Paso Robles fire
Community members have rallied together to help raise funds for two Paso Robles families who lost their homes to the River Fire on Monday.
The 15-acre fire destroyed two houses — a mobile home on Almond Street and a house on Creston Road — and damaged nine others, according to Paso Robles firefighters.
The fire started around 1:55 p.m. Monday in the Salinas Riverbed and quickly spread, leading to large-scale evacuations and several road closures in the Capitol Hill area.
The fire was fully contained and all evacuation orders were lifted by 3 p.m. Tuesday, but two families no longer had a house to return to.
According to GoFundMe campaigns, the Wilson family and Rendon family both lost their homes to the fire.
A GoFundMe campaign set up for Mark Wilson and his children reached its goal and raised more than $5,000 from more than 50 donors as of Wednesday afternoon. The campaign is still accepting donations.
According to the page, Wilson’s two dogs were rescued in the fire and no one was injured. However, all of the families belongings were lost.
“As if 2020 hasn’t been hard enough, my brother Mark Wilson lost everything in the devastating fire in Paso Robles,” the campaign description reads.
Another GoFundMe campaign was created for the Rendons, a family of five who also lost their rental home and all their belongings.
“Anything they did not take to work that morning is gone. Lodging, cars, clothes, memorabilia, medicine, furniture, pet food, appliances, toothbrush, EVERYTHING! ... Let’s show them our Paso, and SLO County love and help out this wonderful family,” the page reads.
As of Wednesday, more than 100 donors have raised $9,412 toward a $100,000 goal for the family. The Rendon family was not covered by renter’s insurance, according to the page.
Both families were unable to be reached for comment.
The cause of the fire was still under investigation Tuesday.
