Saira and Alexia Cazares died in a fire on Tuesday.
MENDOCINO Co., 12/14/16 — Early Tuesday morning a fire swept through the home of the Cazares family in Manchester. The family rushed out, some crawling under the smoke, and some jumping from the roof of the house to safety. But once outside, the two youngest members of the family were missing, daughters Saira and Alexia. The two girls perished in the fire.
A mass is being held in honor of Saira and Alexia Cazares tonight, Wednesday Dec. 14, at 7pm, at Saint Aloysius in Point Arena. The collection plate will be passed around and donations made to the family, who not only suffered the death of their two daughters, but also lost their home and everything else in the fire. A Go Fund Me page has also been started for the family and, as of publishing time, had already raised $19,000 in an outpouring of love and support from the community.
If you wish to donate you can online here: Cazares Family Fund. If you have household good or furniture you would like to donate, you can drop them off at the S&B Market in Manchester. There is also reports of an account set up at Redwood Credit Union to donate to the family directly, we will update as more information becomes available.
You can see previous coverage here.
Expressions of grief and support have flowed from around the county. This morning Mendocino County Sheriff Tom Allman posted the following message to his Facebook:
As Sheriff, my phone often rings with information which will be the news of the day. Major Arrests, floods, disasters, jail incidents etc.
When I received a text message yesterday stating that two young vibrant children had perished in a structure fire early Tuesday morning, I felt as if someone had hit me very hard. Think of it, your children are the most important things in your life. You birthed them, you taught them, you helped them; all because you loved them.
While I don’t personally know the family on the Coast who suffered this devastating loss, I will pray for you. We, The County of Mendocino, are truly sorry for your loss. I have been told that the parents are loving, hard working parents, who contribute to our county. I’m sorry, I will continue to shed tears over your loss.
To the first responders who have also been dealing with this, I know what you are feeling. I have been the one to tell parents the news and remove the bodies of a victims. If I had a magic wand, I would remove that memory from you mind so that you will never have “those dreams”. Thank you for doing everything, and even more. You are very appreciated.
To our volunteer Chaplains. Thank you. There are few people who can do what you do, and you are doing it because of your love of humanity, and your deep calling with your faith.
To one of our newest deputies who did his job in a manner which showed empathy, courage and professionalism, I thank you.
To the Manchester community, this will affect you forever. Please understand the the rest of our county is ready to wrap out arms around you and comfort you.
As the Holidays approach, please realize that the best gifts we can give each other cost nothing. Love, Appreciation, Understanding, Wisdom, Compassion. Tell someone in your life how important they are. Life rarely gives us advance notice of death.
