WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah — A family is still displaced from their West Valley City home because of earthquake damage from over a month ago.
Jose Garcia and his family have owned their mobile home for five years.
A 5.7 magnitude earthquake in March centered in Magna shifted the home three feet off its foundation.
“The day that the earthquake happened, the trailer went down and my wife and two kids were in the trailer,” Garcia said through a translator.
Garcia described how his family escaped the home through a window because the damage jammed the door shut. The quake also destroyed the home’s piping and wiring.
“When the trailer fell to the side three feet, it damaged the water pipes, the gas," he said.
The home is still without utilities.
Officials with West Valley City said crews from the city, county and a local church helped the family stabilize the home. Ultimately, the cost and responsibility to repair the home’s infrastructure rests on the homeowner.
“I understand that I have to be the one to fix that,” Garcia said.
The cost to bring the home back up to code to make it livable is in the thousands of dollars. It is a huge burden for Garcia and his family who have made lives for themselves in West Valley City for five years.
“It’s expensive, and it would take a helping hand to help us be able to carry this out,” Garcia said.
The Garcias are now living with other family members, as they hope and wait for the day when they can secure the resources that will allow them return home.
“We miss greatly our home. Me and my family want to come back home. There is no place like being at home,” Garcia said.
The Garcia Family has a GoFundMe page to help with the costs of the repairs.
