By EMIL WHITIS
Daily Press Staff Writer
A small pop-up camper sits behind the charred remains of a mobile home on the wind-swept plains just southwest of Hagerman.
When Tony Hernandez woke up on Friday morning, he watched his breath rise and suspend in the air like smoke from the fire that recently claimed his home — a subtle reminder of his situation.
Nights are getting progressively colder, but with help from kind-hearted neighbors, Hernandez and his 59-year-old mother Rose Silvas are making the best of what he optimistically termed their “extended camping trip.”
The mother/son pair’s mobile home caught fire at approximately 3:30 p.m. on Nov. 11. Neighbor Jeff Couty first witnessed the blaze when he went outside after being alarmed by his dogs. In a state of disbelief, Couty watched as smoke poured out from the roofline and then sprang into action.
“I grabbed my garden hose, ran over there and tried to put it out,” he said. “It was just too far gone.”
Couty abandoned his attempt to put the fire out and focused instead on trying to minimize the damage. … For the rest of the story, subscribe in print and on the web.
