MOUNTAIN HOME, Idaho — A Mountain Home family is rebuilding after a wildfire destroyed their home last week — and they are doing it with a baby on the way.
The RA-1 fire tore through a Mountain Home neighborhood, destroying 15 homes and more than a dozen cars. Giovanni Ochoa’s family lost their trailer in the fire. What remains is the skeleton of kitchen chairs, the remains of his motorcycle and a few pan lids sitting in the ashes.
"This is probably the toughest thing I've ever gone through," Ochoa said.
WATCH: How one family is coping with the loss of their home
Ochoa's wife, Anahei, is six months pregnant. He said the family never received an evacuation order, but got out on their own.
"I grabbed my jacket, I gave it to her, I was like, ‘hey, put this over your mouth, cover your eyes, we're going to go out," Ochoa recalled, "As soon as we got out, finally, we went straight to the hospital, that was our priority was the baby."
In the days since the fire, neighbors have rallied around the family from every direction.
"It's overwhelming, and it's a good overwhelming," Ochoa said.
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That sense of community support is echoing across Mountain Home. Sherri Freer, president of the Mountain Home Ministerial Association, said a network of 14 local churches raised more than $22,000 in just 48 hours for fire victims.
"It's been pretty overwhelming to me. I have been quite emotional about it,” Freer said, “It was just so obvious to see that when people are in need, people come together and the world is not as divided as we think.”
The American Red Cross is also continuing to support displaced families through the recovery process.
"We actually have recovery volunteers who follow up with people afterward, and even as of today, we have our recovery volunteers following up," Jennifer Bivert, senior community disaster program manager for the American Red Cross covering Idaho, Montana, and eastern Oregon, said.
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The Ochoas are now settling into a temporary space offered by a neighbor. The outpouring of donations has been so significant that the family is already giving back.
"We've been getting so much baby stuff, you know, that now we actually have too much, you know, and so we're giving back, you know, we had just found out that one of our neighbors was pregnant too," Ochoa said.
You can find more information on the Mountain Home Fire Burnout Fund here.
You can donate to the American Red Cross Idaho and East Oregon here.
This story was initially reported by a journalist and has been, in part, converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
