Heartbroken: Elder’s home burns in Houck

HOUCK, Ariz. – A daughter began fundraising after her mother miraculously escaped a house fire of an unknown source in Houck, located along Interstate 40 a few miles west of the Arizona-New Mexico border.
On Dec. 29, 2023, around 9 p.m., Martiney Yazzie, 72, escaped through her back door as her home burned, resulting in the loss of most of her belongings.

Because of the loss and damages, Yazzie’s daughter, Melody Pinto, created a GoFundMe with a goal of $5,000 to slowly restore her mother’s home and replace basic needs like clothes, food, and other necessities. However, the fundraising goal estimates the costs needed and is likely to change as more information becomes available.

Yazzie, an amputee, and wheelchair user, said that when she made her way through her back door, she had to remove herself from her seat and use her chair as a rail to make her way down the steps, but slipped and the wheelchair pulled her down, causing her to fall.

“I was yelling outside, hoping someone could hear me,” Yazzie said as she cried, describing that night. “I was yelling. My nephew heard me, and I just saw somebody running from the hill. He (nephew) picked me up and put me back on my chair.”

Puerco Valley Fire Department responded. Fire Chief William Prentice said the Engine Company, Water Tender, and ambulance responded to a structure fire, and upon their arrival, they found a home with its front and right sides in flames.

“An attack line was deployed, and the fire was extinguished,” Prentice said. “Fire crews began salvage and overhaul where items that contained family history were recovered with no damage and given to the family.”
However, the cause of the fire is still in question as the scene was turned over to Window Rock Navajo Police Department, which was unavailable to respond with requested information before Tuesday afternoon’s deadline.

A living nightmare

Yazzie said she smelled smoke and checked her wood stove when describing that night. Seeing no fire, she headed to her front door, which, upon opening, revealed the patio in flames. She panicked and tried to pour water on the flames, but the fire was too big. She managed to grab her purse and blanket.

When recalling her feelings, Yazzie became overwhelmed and could not continue, so her daughter spoke on her mother’s behalf.

According to Pinto, her mother lost everything valuable to her, like clothes, dishes, and pictures, amongst other things.

“She (mother) closed the door and grabbed whatever she could,” Pinto said, sharing what her mother told her. “She got out of the back door and made it outside, somehow.”

Thankfully, Yazzie’s neighbor/nephew, Dewayne Nez, heard Yazzie yelling for help and went to the flaming house.

Nez did not immediately return phone calls for comments before Tuesday afternoon’s deadline.

Restoring

Living 26 miles from her mother, Pinto and her husband received a call around 10 p.m. The couple arrived at her mother’s home, which was swallowed by the fire half an hour later.

“It’s heartbreaking to see the house sitting like that,” said Pinto, who has not left her mother’s side since that night. “Family and relatives have been supportive.”

Yazzie, losing her home built by the Southwest Indian Foundation, now lives in the hogan nested near her home, which was only used for ceremonial purposes.

“Of course, it has a dirt floor, no plumbing, no light,” said Pinto, describing the challenges of relocating her mother to a place without the basic needs for her. But Pinto, her husband, and older brother are doing their best for Yazzie.

“We’re trying to figure out what goes from here,” Pinto said. “I never been one strong for my family, but I have to today because today is a blessing.”

Pinto shared a few things that have taken place to fit her mother’s needs best, including ensuring she has food, water, clothes, blankets, and an outhouse, which puts a financial burden on the family.

“We’re still trying to get supplies to build her an outhouse so the wheelchair can go in there,” Pinto said. “Out of everything, my mom made it out of that fire. She’s alive.”

Pinto said her mother’s heart is broken, and she cries regularly for her home and all the things she lost, but Pinto reminds her mother that she is here and is alive and has support from family and relatives.

“We’re here. We’re not planning your funeral,” Pinto told her mother. “That’s the best part of the whole situation. We get to spend more years with you.”

Although Yazzie is a wheelchair user, she is still determined to do things on her own, which Pinto said she often forgets because she does not see her mother using her disability as an excuse.

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