NewsWest 9
ODESSA - On Saturday, NewsWest 9 caught up with the family as they began the clean-up of what's left of their home after a fire left their home in ruins on Friday morning.
"We saw the flames just go up," Maria Ibarra, who lost her home, said.
How do you pick up the pieces of your life?
Early Friday morning, the Ibarra family lost in mere minutes what had taken them years to build.
Charred debris are all that remains of their two-story house and trailer.
Chris and Maria Ibarra awoke at 3 a.m. Friday to Chris' father yelling fire. The smoke and flames were spreading everywhere and fast.
They knew escape was their only option.
"Get everybody out, and that's what we did, so that's good," Chris Ibarra said.
"I just wanted to take my kids out. Just wanted my kids out of there," Maria said.
With the fire cutting off the stairway, they did the only thing they could.
They jumped from the 2nd story, hit the ground, and rushed to the windows of the trailer their kids were in.
"I was yelling and yelling," Maria said. "Screaming to my kids to wake up and they woke up and they got out."
By the time the Ibarras got out, the house was engulfed in flames. They tried to run to the hose out back, but it was already melted and there was nothing they could do.
A neighbor saw the fire and called 911. The Ibarras ran to the street out front as the fire department arrived.
Now the Red Cross is providing the Ibarras with emergency shelter, food and clothes until they move in with their daughter.
Red Cross officials told NewsWest 9, they suspect it was an electrical fire caused by the dry season.
But all of the family made it out safe, including their pets. They plan to rebuild and rejoice in still having each other.
"We'll just clean up everything and start, start new," Chris said when asked what the next step was. "That's the way it's gonna go, little by little. We'll get it."
