Family relocates to Caon City after California wildfire destroys their home

As the death tolls rise in California from the devastating wildfires, one native Colorado Springs family is looking to rebuild their lives in Cañon City.

By looking at Steven Armenta’s smile, it’s hard to believe he and his family are left with nothing.

“You gotta laugh, otherwise you cry,” Armenta said.

As he looked at pictures of his home from before the fire, he couldn’t help but smile.

“It was so nice, we had picked it out. It was so good,” Armenta said.

But now, his home is completely unrecognizable.

“It was supposed to be our forever house,” Armenta said.

Armenta and his wife have three children — 15, 11 and 8 years old.

But the day they will never forget started like any other.

“That day we woke up, my wife was getting ready to take my son to his high school to drop him off,” he said.

Armenta says things quickly changed when heavy haze and smoke began filling the air.

It wasn’t long before he knew he had to grab his family and hit the road.

“It was intense. Even if you didn’t feel the heat you felt the pressure of the decisions you were making,” he said. “And then to be stuck in a line that doesn’t move but half a car length and to be next to fires that are burning up buildings.”

Although it hasn’t been an easy decision, Armenta says he’s choosing to move back to his hometown to be closer to family.

Which means he won’t be able to search through the rubble of his burnt home.

Something that brings him to tears.

“I wanna find my wife’s wedding rings and I wanna do all that stuff but I can’t. I have kids and I have to keep moving forward for them,” he said.

As trying as these past couple days have been, the only thing the Armenta’s can count on is their positivity.

“You gotta laugh, because laughter is how you stay alive.”

Something Armenta says his mom taught him.

His family says they’ve received an outpour of support through their go fund me account, something they’re happy to announce they can now shut down.

But they hope to start raising money for one of their family friends who they say lost more than they did.

You can help by visiting their donation link here.