LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Two families are facing uncertainty after a Sunday morning fire damaged two homes at the Whispering Sands Mobile Home Park in east Las Vegas, leaving residents without a place to live and with many of their belongings gone.
For 73-year-old Sherman Dougherty, the morning began with a commotion inside the home where he had been living.
WATCH: East Las Vegas reporter Adriana Gonzalez-Chavez talked with impacted residents
“I heard a commotion in the front room and I got up to see what was going on and there was smoke coming out,” Dougherty said.
Dougherty, who has lived in the Las Vegas valley for 20 years, said he woke up around 7 a.m. and quickly realized he needed to get outside.
“Once I saw that smoke, it was really thick,” Dougherty said. “I didn't want to go back in there.”
The Clark County Fire Department said crews arrived to find Dougherty’s home fully engulfed in flames, with the fire spreading to a neighboring home.
Three people were treated at the scene, and two were taken to the hospital, including a young boy who was living with Dougherty.
“It's been quite a day,” Dougherty said.
Dougherty shared the home with his caretaker and her two children. The family said they also lost their belongings in the fire.
Next door, Anna Maria Tilley was also dealing with extensive damage to her home.
Tilley said her sister, who is visiting her on vacation, was inside the mobile home when the fire began.
“My sister called me,” Tilley said. “I said, ‘What happened?’ Says some fire.”
Tilley said she is grateful her sister is OK, but she is devastated by what happened to her home.
“They've broken the window and everything and the water is everywhere,” Tilley said. “You cannot be inside because the smell of smoke, it's really bad.”
The Clark County Fire Department said the cause of the fire remains under investigation.
Tilley said the American Red Cross provided her and her sister with money to stay at a hotel temporarily. However, she said she still does not know when she will be able to return home.
“I was crying. I still am not recovered,” Tilley said. “You feel only that it's not me.”
For both families, the fire has now left questions about where they will go and how they will recover from what they lost.
