LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Five people and two pets are living without running water on Jerry Drive after high winds downed power lines behind their home Sunday night, triggering a chain of events that flooded the house and set it on fire.
Sharon Fackrell and her family have lived in the home for 13 years. She said the nightmare began when power poles in her backyard exploded in the high winds, splitting a power line in half.
"Me and my family were just sitting in the living room watching TV and um suddenly there was an enormous explosion in the backyard," Fackrell said.
WATCH | Local family home on Jerry Drive floods, catches fire after winds down power lines
The family lost power and scrambled for flashlights before a second pole blew.
"The electricity went off, we got up to like find flashlights or whatever, and then the second pole, the, the next pole down blew up, and then, um, we were like, oh my God, what's going on?" Fackrell said.
The severed power line fell into the family's pool, destroying the pool system and the plumbing below.
"It fell into my pool, and then another huge explosion that literally shook my whole house," Fackrell said.
Water began flooding the home from multiple sources.
"There's water coming out of the bathrooms, there's water coming out of from underneath the sink, and there's water coming up through the floor, just like soaking the carpet," Fackrell said.
Neighbors spotted flames and alerted the family.
"The back door neighbors, kind of up on the fence, and they were waving flashlights like this, and we opened up the back door and they're like, your house is on fire," Fackrell said.
After the fire department responded, Fackrell said she immediately called her homeowners insurance provider, Travelers, to file a claim. The family was forced to shut off water at the sidewalk to stop the flooding, leaving them without running water.
"I need to put in a claim. We don't have any water. We had to turn the water off here at the sidewalk because we couldn't stop the flooding any other way. So the water has been off. If we turn it back on," Fackrell said.
Three days later, Fackrell said the insurance company has still not resolved her claim.
"Giving me the runaround and still nothing has happened still we haven't made any progress on getting any claim or anything done," Fackrell said. "We can't use the toilets, we can't shower, we can't wash our hands, we can't do anything."
Fackrell said her neighbors have stepped up to help the family cope.
"My neighbors have been so great," Fackrell shared. "They've offered come use our bathroom, come use our shower, whatever you need, you know, we've got their hose over the fence so that we can fill up bottles."
After Fackrell reached out to a lawyer and to our station, an agent told her an insurance adjuster would come to her home Thursday to assess the damage. A decision on her claim may not come until Friday.
Fackrell said she is frustrated after years of paying her premiums.
"I have made my payments to you for 13 years. You were willing to take my money," Fackrell shared. "But now that I've had a disaster at my home... Where's that help? Where's that help that I needed? Where's that help that I was promised?... It's an uphill battle."
After hours, an email was sent to Travelers asking about this specific claim. A response is pending when they open.
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