Kevin Lopez had just celebrated his 41st birthday. The following day — the day before Thanksgiving — Lopez lost nearly everything.
A fire destroyed his home at the Meadows of Bloomington mobile home park.
“That was shocking. The only thing that crossed my mind was my animals,” said Lopez, referring to his two dogs which survived and his 20 pet birds — an assortment of cockatoos, parrots and finches — which did not.
Lopez, a construction worker who lives alone, said he was on a job site when the fire started. He said the fire appears to have started in the home’s water heater, which he said was new.

Lopez said the home, which he has lived in for 15 years, was uninsured. He said he had considered getting a quote for insurance as recently as Tuesday, but given the on-again-off-again nature of his drywalling jobs, he wasn’t sure he could afford insurance with so little money saved.
“I live check by check,” Lopez said.
Bianca Pintor, a friend of Lopez, has allowed him to stay with her family and she has arranged a GoFundMe page to help him recoup at least some of his costs toward rebuilding or finding another place to live.
“I know he’s a good person and also I know he doesn’t have savings,” Pintor said. “He works, but you know how the expenses are here, so it’s hard.”
Pintor set a goal of $10,000 in donations. As of Sunday afternoon, nearly $2,000 had been raised.
Lopez said he first has to clean out the home of everything, because nothing was salvageable. He said he will likely look to rebuild the home there because building new has become so expensive. He said he also has some friends in construction who have offered to help with labor and supplies.
Lopez said he’s making a public plea not to ask for more help, but to express gratitude to those who have already contributed to the campaign or helped in some other way.
“I want to give thanks to those who have helped already,” Lopez said. “Everything at the moment looks … not good, but better than before.”