Back-to-back tragedies breaks our hearts. Tri-Cities, please help these families

Two separate Mid-Columbia families are dealing with unthinkable grief after tragic accidents claimed the lives of their loved ones.

Tri-Citians and others with generous hearts are stepping up to help offset the financial burdens that these families now face, and we hope the momentum continues.

In dealing with such terrible loss, making a donation — even a small one — is a way to let these families know that they are not alone in their suffering.

And helping each other out in times of distress is what community is supposed to be about.

Hector and Monica Escobar-Chimel lost their home and their sweet 8-year-old daughter Naomi in a terrible fire last weekend. Their 14-year-old son, Lotar, is in intensive care at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. He suffered burns over half his body and possible smoke damage to his eyes and lungs.

The family has been living in a motor home parked in a Kennewick RV park and Hector has been working out of state. On Saturday morning, Nov. 12 – Lotar’s birthday – Monica left for work while the children slept.

How the fire started is still under investigation. Neighbors were able to get Lotar out after breaking a window and firefighters forced a door open and found Naomi.

Naomi attended Vista Elementary School and Lotar is a student at Chinook Middle School. Certainly, students and staff at their schools are shaken by this tragedy.

But everyone who finds out about their story can imagine the nightmare this family is enduring right now.

As of this writing, the GoFundMe account for the family is over $58,000 from 748 donations. The goal is $75,000 and it would be great if Tri-Citians could make sure that mark is reached.

As it happens, on Tuesday another fire broke out at this same Kennewick RV Park. A single-wide mobile home, a fifth-wheeler and a travel trailer reportedly burned and now four adults no longer have homes.

So now, even more people need help. And this is in addition to another family reeling from loss.

An Othello father and two young boys drowned in a recent canoe accident. The lone survivor was a 10-year old son who was found by relatives on the shore at 11 p.m. last Friday night.

And the mother, who was not part of the outing, is expecting.

The father, Miguel Porfirio De Dios, took his boys out for a fishing trip about 55 miles north of Pasco at the Columbia National Wildlife Refuge. Sadly, law enforcement officials said none were wearing life jackets.

The canoe reportedly capsized and Porfirio De Dios and sons Oliver, 6, and William, 8, died. Their bodies have been recovered and friends and family are trying to raise money for funeral costs and to send the bodies to Mexico.

The GoFundMe account is over $29,000 with a $60,000 goal.

These back-to-back, gut-wrenching accidents show how one terrible moment can shatter lives forever and it breaks our hearts.

Helping these families with their financial needs will be one less burden they have to bear. If you haven’t yet contributed, we encourage you to do so if you can.

And while you’re at it, now is a good time to clean out your pantry and donate canned goods to the Tri-Cities Food Bank.

Thanksgiving is next week, and organizations like the Tri-City Union Gospel Mission and The Salvation Army and others are looking, as always, for financial support.

Times are tough for many people right now. Inflation is cutting into family budgets. Rising food prices and record high gas prices are making money tighter for everyone.

But even so, those of us who have so much to be thankful for — families that are safe, homes left intact and other comforts — should especially remember others who don’t share our good fortune.

This story was originally published November 16, 2022 at 11:56 AM.