FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) — Arnold Williams Sr.’s home was decimated by the Eaton fire last January. Sadly, he passed away this past summer before he got a chance to rebuild his home, which was his dream.<\/p>\n
Now, his son is determined to honor his father and make that dream a reality, even if it isn’t how they originally pictured it.<\/p>\n
“My son-in-law called and said I had to leave right away so I got up and got dressed and I left with the clothes on my back. Nothing is impossible. You can go home one day, and nothing is there,” says Arnold Williams Sr.<\/p>\n
Arnold Williams Sr. spoke with Action News last January after he lost everything in the Eaton Fire.<\/p>\n
Classic cars, family heirlooms, prized possessions, reduced to ash.<\/p>\n
The 87-year-old passed away from congestive heart failure; his only dream was to rebuild. But after his insurance company cancelled him, that dream is now out of reach for his children, including his son Arnold Jr.<\/p>\n
“He wanted to rebuild, and he passed away with a broken heart. It devastated him to lose his home, and he never recovered from that,” says Arnold Williams Jr.<\/p>\n
Father and son assessed the damage days after the fire, and now, a year later, the lot is leveled.<\/p>\n
“It looks like a warzone, there’s nothing left, just empty lots,” says Williams Jr.<\/p>\n
Melted car rims from his father’s classic Rolls-Royce were the only thing recovered from his childhood home.<\/p>\n
“What does this symbolize for you?” we asked.<\/p>\n
“Piece of history, a piece of my father’s legacy that’s left,” he responded.<\/p>\n
Of the thousands who lost their homes, fewer than a dozen have rebuilt.<\/p>\n
For Williams Jr. its been nothing but red tape and roadblocks.<\/p>\n
He says they will most likely sell the land, but not for some time, as they work through ongoing family conflict.<\/p>\n
“We won’t rebuild. We have to come to an agreement first before we can rebuild or even attempt to talk about it,” says Williams Jr.<\/p>\n
Williams Jr. with this message to his late father and this wish for the future.<\/p>\n
“Tell him, I still love him. I’ll try to keep up his legacy. Hopefully somebody can move in and enjoy it, rebuild, and have the experience that I had as a kid,” says Williams Jr.<\/p>\n
Several of Williams Jr’s family members also lost their homes. One of his sisters remains in a homeless shelter to this day. He says this has truly changed their family and neighborhood forever.<\/p>\n
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