It represents the difference seven weeks can make. No more crowds in a room reduced to one-third the size it used to be.
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Its the closing door that means progress.
FEMA tells us they helped some 4,000 households, 12,000 people, handed out roughly $7 million in financial assistance, and continued even as Ruth and Fred Walz passed through.
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Not much remains of their home on Soda Canyon Road. Before retiring, Fred worked as a carpenter, and Ruth as a social worker. Now she's seeing it from the other side. "You cry for the smallest of reasons," said Ruth. "Even the sight of a puppy. I'm not going to cry now, but I might."
The difficulty of recovering from a major fire isn't any one thing, she told us. Instead, it's the cumulative weight from all of them. "This will take years," Ruth said.
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As the couple spoke with us, they held large cookies in their hands. Thank Judith Colliflower for those.
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We found her around the corner, working for the Small Business Administration. She baked them, herself, and left the container sitting on a desk.
"It's Christmas," said Ruth.
What a nice personal touch.
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