Precious memories gone and access is still restricted. It's now been five days since a massive fire at a Mesa storage facility near Country Club Drive and Southern Avenue. Affected customers still can't get their stuff.
ABC15 talked with a woman who says she lost several important family keepsakes.
For Ellen Tallabos, the hits keep on coming and her world seemed to turn upside down this past September and October.
"I lost three friends in the hurricane on Fort Myers Beach,” said Tallabos.
She, who moved from the Valley to Florida's south-central gulf coast, survived Hurricane Ian.
"Two months later, I get a phone call saying my storage unit burned down that had everything in my whole life in it,” added Tallabos.
She's talking about 67 years of stuff like furniture, her father's paintings including a self-portrait, her children's blankets and shoes along with items from her late son to pass to his kids.
"It's just anything you could imagine, you know? You're picturing, in your mind, that was in there! I had two husbands who have died. I had all their mementos in there that I saved. Just things,” added Tallabos.
While still recovering from Hurricane Ian, Tallabos learned of the storage facility fire in Mesa 2,250 miles away.
"My daughter, when I called her Tuesday night to tell her, she said 'that was your storage place?' I said yeah. She said they just called you today,” stated Tallabos.
ABC15 returned to the scene Thursday, five days after the fire. Investigators are still sifting through what remains. Tallabos, like others affected, are still not being allowed to enter their units.
"I am really heartbroken. I feel this, I wake up in the morning and my stomach hurts. It's like so sad. It just said. It is my whole life,” added Tallabos.
Tallabos says her property in the storage was insured. So, she's going through the process to get compensated. But, once that process is done, she will be left only to reflect on the memories.
"The money isn't even anything. It's $3,000. That goes in a day, you know? You pay three bills and your $3,000 is gone,” added Tallabos. “It's not their fault. I get it. They didn't just want their place to burn down. I am sure."
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
