by Adolfo Flores
Pasadena Sun
Karen Tinsley arose in the middle of the night on Nov. 30 to see burning embers floating toward her Mentor Avenue home. She grabbed her Maltese, Rocky, and bolted across the street at the height of the windstorm.
A malfunctioning transformer set fire to two homes near Tinsley’s and the embers ignited her roof. She stood across the street and watched her home burn.
“They’re going to have to gut the house,” Tinsley said Wednesday. “I’m still in shock.”
Tinsley was among the storm victims who visited a federal disaster center that opened its doors in Pasadena this week.
Representatives from the Small Business Administration are helping San Gabriel Valley residents and others apply for loans to repair homes and businesses damaged by the windstorm that blew through the region Nov. 30 through Dec. 4.
