A family of 14 is left picking up the pieces near Monte Alto after a fire left their home in ruins. 

 “It's awful to have something, and then have it all taken away overnight,” Noraelia Garces said. 

Garces is the grandmother of the household and lived at the home with her son and his family.

The family wasn’t home when the fire happened early Wednesday morning, Garces said.

Garces said her son and his wife were dropping off their children at school when their neighbor called to tell them their house was on fire.

Garces said her son built the home from the ground up. It took him four years to complete the project.

The Edcouch and Elsa fire departments responded to the fire.

Among the charred debris are burnt food and clothes, just some of the things the family is now without.

“They were really left with nothing but the clothes they were wearing,” Garces said.

The family has 12 children. The oldest is 16 years old, but the youngest is just 4 years old — too young to understand the devastation the family now faces.

“I feel for my children and my grandchildren, they are my blood,” Garces said. “It hurts me a lot and, well, I have no words because I feel it too."

The family is staying with relatives, and some of them are already asking what's next.

The Hidalgo County Fire Marshal is investigating the cause of the fire, and said arson was ruled out.

The Red Cross and Hidalgo County Community Service Agency are helping the family.

Garces said she hopes her family looks to the future and work to find some sense of normalcy as the holidays approach

“With what little I have, I want to enjoy it with them,” Garces said. “What's done is done. Let's leave it behind and live in the present."

A GoFundMe has been set up to help the family. To donate, click here.

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