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FRITCH - The future remains uncertain for hundreds who lost their homes in the Double Diamond fire near Fritch. Some hope to rebuild, but homeowners without insurance remain in limbo.

Rep. Mac Thornberry, R-Clarendon, said Friday the prospects for federal assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency are uncertain at best.

Local officials, he said, must document the damage and send a request to Gov. Rick Perry's office, who then would need to seek federal funding.

"What's happened before is that we have not had an individual fire that's met criteria to be declared a presidential disaster area, which is what brings the FEMA assistance and so forth," he said. "They (FEMA) look and see what resources the locals and the state bring to bear, and evaluate that and see if there's something on top of that they can do."

The massive Mother's Day wildfire near Fritch destroyed 225 homes, 143 outbuildings and more than 100 vehicles, but firefighters were able to save 241 houses and 144 other structures, officials said.

Investigators are still trying to determine the cause of the wind-whipped blaze.

Jerry Dachille, 61, of 301 Melody Lane was busy last week with a crew of men pulling metal from the ruins of his newly remodeled home. As he paused from long, laborious work, Dachille pointed to a metal milk can that once sat atop his deck and said the flames engulfed the wooden structure so thoroughly and quickly that the can dropped - still upright - to the ground below without tipping over. Nearby, his favorite metal chair was in the ruins, blackened by the smoke and flames.

Dachille said he just finished cooking ribs for Mother's Day about 4 p.m. and smelled some smoke, which at first he thought was a neighbor cooking barbecue.

"The next thing I know, this place looked like a war zone," he said, noting that law enforcement officers quickly arrived and told the family to leave as the fire approached. "My wife grabbed her jewelry, but not all of it, I'm sure. She grabbed her Bible, her wedding pictures and a few pictures of the kids."

The couple left and headed to a nearby school. Then the wind changed and the flames appeared to be headed toward the area where they lived. Dachille called his Allstate insurance agent, left him a phone message and said he might need help the next day. The next morning, Dachille received a call back and learned he was covered.

Isabell Ramon, 46, a former health care worker, was in Borger when she first heard about the fire and headed home to Rambling Trail, but law enforcement officers turned her back.

"I went to Allsup's and learned my house was gone. I was devastated then," she said. But in the trunk of Ramon's destroyed 1982 white Buick LeSabre, she and husband Johnny later found some 1920s-era mirrors she had collected. On a broken piece of mirror, they found a V smeared on the glass, a message they said was from a friend, Vince Hopkins, a longtime Amarillo musician who died recently of cancer. Ramon said she often hauled Hopkins to his doctor's appointments before he died, and saw the message as a blessing.

Ramon said the couple did not have insurance, but they hope to build a new home.

Richard Tindell, 59, and Michele Tindell, 48, were in Amarillo having lunch for Mother's Day when a caller told them the fire was headed toward their home.

"We had five minutes to get what we needed and get out," Richard Tindell said. "We got our pets, a few boxes of mementos, and that's all we got."

The Tindells later would learn through social media and word of mouth that their home was gone.

"It looks like it's going to take a while before this is all done," he said.

Danny and Silvia Engle were enjoying a Mother's Day lunch in Amarillo when a friend called and told them of the fire. The Engles drove home and rescued their dogs before the flames reached their home, but they knew the blaze would engulf it. Later they returned and found their home in ruins.

"It looked like a bomb went off," Danny Engle would recall later. The Engles said they are insured, but do not know if they are going to rebuild.

Lorna Wayde, 59, a U-Haul business owner, also was among the many who lost their homes.

Wayde was enjoying her Sunday afternoon, painting her wood shed and putting metal signs on it while enjoying the weather and some drinks. Then a neighbor called and told her the fire was quickly moving toward her neighborhood. Wayde grabbed her animals, a few family photos and clothes. Her husband saved their boat before they evacuated, but later the couple learned their home was lost in the flames.

"We lost it all," Lorna Wayde said.

The Waydes, she said, are insured, but not all of the damage will be covered by their insurance company. Wayde and her husband are now hunting for a used fifth-wheel trailer to live in until they decide if they will rebuild.

On the day of the fire, Kevin Miller, 54, of 102 Crown Drive, a driver for United Parcel Service, was working in his garage when he smelled smoke, but heard the blaze was elsewhere. Soon, he saw smoke and told wife Terri it was time to bail. They grabbed their dogs and he told her to meet him at the Allsup's in Fritch. He readied his motor home and soon his neighbor's home was ablaze.

"I grabbed my water hose, and I'm hosing, hosing, hosing, and the water runs dry," he said. "His (neighbor's) house is on fire. I realize it's time to go and get the motor home to town. ... Somewhere in that story everything went south."

The Salvation Army, he said, put the couple up in a motel. They hope to rebuild.

"I'm good. I'm not hungry or thirsty. I have a roof over my head," he said Thursday as he and a friend pulled away debris with a tractor.

Jason Adams, 28, said he also lost his home, the second time he has lost a home to fire. The night before the Double Diamond fire broke out, Adams smoked meat for Mother's Day. The next afternoon, he heard fire was headed his way.

"We looked out the door and there was so much smoke already. We didn't have time to do nothing. We had about 30 minutes to grab what we could and get out of there," he said.

Adams said he didn't have insurance, but was grateful that his dog turned up at a nearby church. A few months ago, he got the hound after someone peppered it with buckshot, he said.

"We're just blessed to have all these people here to have our backs and support us. It's just incredible," he said. "Your things mean a lot to you, but your life is more important, and God will take care of you.

"You've just got to have high spirits and high hopes, and just try not to see all the bad and look forward to the good that's going to come from all the tragedy that has happened."