Winton residents return to charred apartments to gather belongings

Winton residents who lost their homes in an apartment complex blaze returned to the Schoolhouse Apartments on Monday in an attempt to salvage any last pieces of their lives.

One resident, Selma Salinas, now is staying with her daughter in Ceres, making the commute to her job in Livingston longer.

The biggest loss for Salinas, who is in her 50s, is not knowing what happened to her cat, Molly.

Salinas and her family salvaged what they could from her apartment Monday afternoon.

Some families were able to load truck beds full of undamaged possessions. Others left with nothing.

“I lost my life there,” Salinas said. “There’s things you can’t get back, like pictures.”

Salinas was already at work Friday when the fire erupted before 7 a.m. Winds gusting in the area led flames to spread quickly throughout the single-story apartment complex on Walnut Avenue.

Battalion Chief Jeremy Rahn said more than 60 people were displaced and were receiving assistance from Merced County and the Red Cross. He put damage estimates at more than $1 million. The cause of the fire was still under investigation Monday.

The apartment complex is across the street from Winton’s Sybil N. Crookham Elementary School.

The Merced County Human Services Agency was able to house about 40 people in motels and provide them with vouchers for food, clothing and any medication lost in the fire. Like Salinas, other victims are staying with relatives.

“We anticipate some of the victims will come back our way for additional assistance,” said Scott Pettygrove, director of Merced County HSA.

Community organizations also have rallied to help the victims. Pastor Pedro Valencia and staff members from his radio show cooked about 150 fajitas for the victims at the Winton Lifeline Community Center. The group also will meet at Applegate Inn on Tuesday and is partnering with Merced First Assembly of God to gather donations for the families.

For more information on the fundraiser, contact Dina Ruiz at 209-552-5282.

Crookham Elementary across the street also started a GoFundMe page to help the victims.

This story was originally published May 23, 2016 at 6:21 PM with the headline "Winton residents return to charred apartments to gather belongings."