PORTERVILLE, Calif. (KFSN) — A boarded-up home is all that remains of a Porterville house after a fire Saturday morning.<\/p>\n
Friends say Janet Gates lived at the home on Corona Drive and Park Street.<\/p>\n
The Porterville Fire Department confirms the woman, in her late 60s to early 70s, died in the fire.<\/p>\n
“It feels like a bad dream right now, a bad, bad, bad dream,” expresses Esther Gonzalez, who knew Janet for 40 years.<\/p>\n
Esther was once Janet’s tenant and a close friend.<\/p>\n
Through tears, Esther describes Janet as someone with a good heart who would do anything to help someone in need.<\/p>\n
“Janet was a very amazing person and anyone who knew her, which was many people, loved her, she was very sweet, a kind, kind woman,” mentions Esther.<\/p>\n
Esther says Janet came from a hardworking, faith-based, and well-known local family that owned multiple rental properties in town.<\/p>\n
She says Janet had recently lost her siblings and her mother, leaving her with one niece.<\/p>\n
Esther explains, “They loved the lord, lived a good, decent life. She was heartbroken because she lost her mom, and then very shortly after, maybe months, in the same year, her sister, then she lost her brother,” she continues, “She was devastated without her family, but the Lord gave her strength and she always thought positive.”<\/p>\n
This weekend’s fire marks the third deadly house fire in Porterville since December.<\/p>\n
Fire Chief Bryan Cogburn says fatal house fires are typically rare but in the last six months, they have claimed the lives of nine people.<\/p>\n
“Prior to our fatality fire in December, it had been several years since our last one. Three within six months is very uncommon; the circumstances regarding the three are different, the causes are different of the three.”<\/p>\n
The Porterville Fire Department says the cause of the fire is still under investigation.<\/p>\n
For South Valley news updates, follow Kassandra Gutierrez on Facebook<\/a>, X<\/a> and Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n Copyright \u00a9 2026 KFSN-TV. All Rights Reserved.<\/p>\n