Aztec family left without shelter for holidays in wake of Dec. 11 home fire

A multigenerational Aztec family is facing an uncertain future after a fire earlier this month severely damaged their home, leaving it uninhabitable and destroying most of their possessions.

Phyllis Green said the family’s home north of Aztec caught fire on the morning of Dec. 11, burning the entire basement and leading to significant fire, smoke and water damage in the rest of the structure. Many of the family’s possessions were stored in the basement and were consumed in the blaze, while several other possessions were ruined by smoke and water.

Phyllis Green and her husband Larry Green, a Vietnam veteran of the U.S. Army who was awarded the Purple Heart, lived in the home with their son and caretaker, Dakota; their daughter, Heather; and her sons, Ladanian Tsosie and Caiden Davidson, both of whom attend school in Aztec. The entire family has been left homeless because of the fire and spent the 10 days after the blaze living in a motel with their accommodations paid for by the Red Cross and an Aztec benefactor.

But the family’s stay at the motel ended on Dec. 21, and Phyllis Green said she had no idea where they would find shelter after that. She said her homeowner’s insurance was cancelled last year, and the various organizations she has turned to for help thus far have provided little assistance.

“We have to get a roof over our heads while our house is being repaired,” she said.

The fire started just as she and her husband were sitting down to their morning coffee, Phyllis said, while her son and daughter were still asleep. It soon became apparent that what they first thought was fog when they looked out their kitchen window was, in fact, smoke, and that’s when Dakota woke up his sister and rushed the rest of the family out the door, some of them still clad in their nightclothes.

The blaze not only left the basement, two bedrooms, a bathroom and part of the roof charred, it also burned up the electrical and plumbing systems, leaving the family without power or water. Part of the ground-floor living space escaped damage, but the smell of smoke continues to hang heavy in the air, and the floor space is packed with the family’s possessions that survived the fire.

“They want to go back in the home, but I don’t think it’s possible,” said Nazbah Cooke, Phyllis’ sister, who has been trying to help the family find long-term shelter.

Phyllis, who is Navajo, said she has reached out to the Navajo Housing Authority for help, but she has been told the agency doesn’t have any long-term shelter available in the Aztec area. The family strongly prefers to remain in Aztec so the boys, Ladanian and Caiden, can continue to go to school there, she said.

Dakota has started a GoFundMe campaign on behalf of the family, and $2,230 had been raised by Dec. 21. But Phyllis Green said much of that money has gone to pay dumping fees for the truckloads of debris her son has been removing from the basement, and she has no idea how the family will manage to pay a contractor to repair the home or where they will live while the work is being done.

Phyllis said her husband suffers from dementia, and she has experienced significant health problems of her own over the last few years. She said officials at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs recommended to her that she seek a loan to pay for the reconstruction of the home, but she said the family is on a limited income, and she has little idea of how to navigate the process of seeking a loan or finding social service agencies who could provide her family with some relief.

She said it seems like every time she speaks to someone on the phone about her family’s predicament, they refer her to another agency or another department for help, she said.

Meanwhile, Dakota, with the help of a handful of friends, has been trying to clean out the damaged basement, and stabilize and seal the portion of the house that remains. On a recent morning, he guided a visitor through the burned-out basement, pointing out the bicycles, tools, appliances, furniture, keepsakes and his father’s prized silversmithing tools — the remnants of the family’s nearly 30-year occupation of the home — that had been destroyed or damaged in the blaze.

“My son’s doing his best right now,” Phyllis said, noting how Dakota has taken charge of the cleanup and tried to prepare the property for a contractor.

But she said she sometimes feels overwhelmed by the enormity of the challenge facing the family, which is struggling to meet the basic demands of shelter, clothing and food as the holidays approach. What normally would have been a festive time of year for the Greens has left the family full of worry, she said.

“I can see it in their eyes,” Phyllis said of how the fire has dampened the spirits of her grandsons. “I can see they’re bothered by it. My husband doesn’t totally understand, but my son is so frustrated.”

To donate to the family’s online fundraising campaign, visit gofundme.com and search for “Green family fire damage cleanup and restoration.”

Anyone else who wishes to help the Green family can contact Dakota Green at 505-543-3102.

Mike Easterling can be reached at 505-564-4610 or measterling@daily-times.com. Support local journalism with a digital subscription: http://bit.ly/2I6TU0e.

This article originally appeared on Farmington Daily Times: GoFundMe campaign set up for Aztec family left homeless after fire