Burned Out
Family’s spirit burns bright despite home being consumed by flames

Displaced by a fire that destroyed their home, the Thomas family is currently living at the El Rancho Hotel in Gallup, and say that as soon as the weather allows, they will begin the process of rebuilding their home. [Photo by Jeff Jones/Independent]

By Leslie Wood
Staff writer

GALLUP —On Saturday, Beverly Thomas was running errands just like any other mother of six.

She drove her husband, Fitzgerald Thomas Sr., to work at the BNSF railroad in Gallup. She then shopped for a gift for her niece’s birthday party that night.

But during her string of errands, Thomas received a disturbing phone call she first thought was a prank.

The caller, a family friend, said her house was on fire.
“He likes to kid around with me,” Thomas said of the friend. “ ... I said ‘Don’t lie to me.’”

Unfortunately, the news wasn’t a prank. The family’s home of some 25 years was fully engulfed in flames.

Reality began to sink in when Thomas saw a plume of smoke rising from the vicinity of her residence south of Gallup near Breadsprings. All she and her children could do is sit helplessly and watch as everything they owned turned to ash.

“The closer we got, the smoke became wider,” Thomas said. “We just watched. We couldn’t stop it. I started crying.”

Firefighters were already at the scene, doing what they could do to extinguish the fire. However, the primary road to the residence, Uprooted Tree Road, was packed with mud, which only complicated their efforts.

“The front porch was nothing but sticks,” Thomas said.
Initial investigation led firefighters to pinpoint a wood-burning stove as the cause of the fire; however, Thomas remembers turning all electronic appliances off and the wood burning stove down prior to her departure that morning.

Within hours, representatives from the local Red Cross chapter arrived to help the Thomas family. They were soon put up in the El Rancho hotel and provided with an array of toiletries to meet their basic needs.

Now, days after the fire, the Thomas family is prepared to face the future and rebuild their beloved home.

“We raised our kids there — from the oldest to the youngest,” Beverly Thomas said.

Another family friend recently gave 2-year-old Lane Thomas, the youngest of the Thomas children, a toy drill.

He walked up to the old home’s burnt exterior and pretended to begin reconstruction.

“He said ‘Dad, Mom, let’s go fix the house,’” his father, Fitzgerald Thomas Sr., said with a laugh.

Laughter is what keeps the family positive, Beverly Thomas said.

“We still have to be strong for the kids,” she said. “ ... We try and laugh like we used to.”

The family takes frequent trips to their property to feed livestock and plans to begin reconstruction as soon as possible. Until then, they will reside in a local apartment.

“We are thankful that we have family and friends supporting us,” Beverly Thomas said. “ ... We want to thank them for donations.”

Fitzgerald Thomas Sr. said he hopes the appropriate agency will repair the road leading to his home to allow for easier travel, especially in the case of an emergency.

Roads in the area are riddled with holes and nearly impassible due to the lack of maintenance. The conditions also hampered firefighters’ ability to respond to the blaze.

“We’d like to get help with our roads,” Thomas Sr. said.