The following is an archived video story. The text content of that video story is available below for reference. The original video has been deleted and is no longer available.

Dozens Left Homeless By Far Northwest Austin Fire


A massive fire in far Northwest Austin destroyed 68 apartments at the International Residence Apartments located at 9811 Copper Creek.

The blaze broke out at about 1:30 a.m., and residents we spoke with were asleep when the fire broke out. “While I was laying down, I smelled smoke and I heard a lot of commotion going on outside”, says Teresa Trego. She immediately woke up her husband and grabbed their two daughters. Teresa says she lost everything. “Keys, cell phone, what you see on us is what we have, everything,” she says.

“I can handle the situation but I feel real bad for my girls, what they lost, one is five and one is about to turn ten in January, so they still haven’t got that maturity level where they understand fully what’s going on,” Jason Trego said.

Despite their family losing everything his daughters still wanted to go to school. Since they left with only the clothes on their back, they went in their pajamas. They told their father they wanted to see if their friends were okay, since they attend school with many of the children who live in the complex.

For now, the Trego family and the other fire victims will be staying at a shelter set up by the American Red Cross in Northwest Austin until they find a new home. Teresa says, “I know God will take care of us, so I’m not really worried, I’ve got the most important thing out of my house and that was my kids, my family.”

By Lydia Pantazes