UPDATE: The woman who died in the fire was identified as 24-year-old Cheryl Marie Dean of Las Vegas. Her cause of death has not yet been determined.
Clark County Fire Department had originally said the victim was an elderly woman.
Dean's family said she is originally from Michigan but she will be laid to rest in Las Vegas.
The family also said fire investigators told them they won't know more about the cause of the fire for about two months.
ORIGINAL STORY
One woman is dead and 45 are without a place to sleep after a massive fire at an apartment complex near Harmon Avenue and Boulder Highway Wednesday morning.
The fire happened just before noon at the Canyon Pointe Apartments. The Red Cross of Southern Nevada is assisting, but because this is the 13th fire since Thanksgiving, resources are being strained and they're asking the community for help.
"Our roof is caved in and we're not even allowed to go into our apartment yet because the floor has collapsed," said Arylias Collins, whose home was lost in the blaze.
Collins is just one of the 45 people left without a place to lay his head after the massive blaze left his home a charred shell of a building, with 18 units destroyed and one person killed.
"We saw the fire on the roof and we were like crap, that's literally right behind us and that's me and my wife's first apartment so it's kind of disheartening," Collins said.
So far investigators are ruling both the death and the fire accidental, but not without serious consequences for more than a dozen families left with nothing. Many of the victims were small children.
"It's a scary time for them, these kids are young and they don't know what's happening in a disaster so we especially care for them and try to make sure they have everything they need to recover," said Frank Rutkowski, Public Information Officer for the Red Cross of Southern Nevada.
But the Red Cross has its hands full. Since Thanksgiving, 13 fires have left 89 people without homes, and its putting a strain on the resources of the largest agency in town tasked with providing care. Now officials say they're depending more than ever on donations from the community to help people like Collins in their hour of greatest need.
"You hear a lot of people say you never expect these things to happen until it happens to you and then when it happens to you, you're like how could this happen to me?" Collins said.
If you'd like to donate to the Red Cross, click here.
Fire officials are also warning folks to be aware of Christmas lights and dry trees as the holiday season enters full swing and risk for home fires increases.
