Mary Martin loved her home in Royal Oaks Mobil Manor in Phoenix, where she moved in 2013.

"It was old," she said. "But it was mine."

She loved the neighbors, her backyard and the pool. Most of all, she loved her big, east-facing picture window.

"I'm not much of a sleeper," she said. "I could sit right on my couch and watch the sun come up in the morning."

She planned to live there for the rest of her life.

But Martin was one of thousands of people who were displaced by the Almeda Fire on Sept. 8, 2020.

Five years later, Royal Oaks is still not fully rebuilt.

'The monster'

The day of the fire, Martin said she had no idea what was going on. She didn't have a go bag prepared. The only reason she knew to evacuate was because a sheriff's deputy yelled, "Get in your car and leave!"

Pull

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