Remaining Edison Mobile Home Park residents face being left without a home
Jan 17, 2025
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) -- Residents have lost hope that the power will ever come back on at Edison Mobile Home Park, now they're worried that they won't even have a home in the coming days.
The Dec. 8 mobile home fire took out the power to residents and took the lives of two women. The county along with Flood Ministries has stepped up to help residents. So far 10 people have been relocated.
One has been reunited with family while seven found permanent housing. Two others have been placed at a shelter.
With no hope of the power coming back, resident Shawn Highfill, is worried he will be asked to leave. "Me and my mom don't know what we're going to do we're most likely going to be homeless for a minute," he said.
Last week, an abatement order was posted by the state requiring the property owners Norman and Marilyn Boyden to restore power, remove debris, and fix sewer connections.
The order says if the owners didn't comply by Friday, Jan. 17, the case would be referred to the state attorney or the District Attorney's office for possible criminal prosecution.
Here's the problem, or at least one of them: Norman and Marilyn Boyden are dead. No one seems to know or at least not saying who the park belongs to now. The on-site manager who used to collect rent hasn't been seen in weeks.
Residents now wonder what will happen to them.
"I think they're probably going to red tag everybody and everybody's gonna have to leave," said Debbie Tucker, who has lived at the Edison mobile home park for two years. Tucker has serious health conditions.
"What can anybody do? I have no money to leave, I have no money at all. I have no income. ... I don't know what I'm going to do. I'm going to stay here until they make me go."
It's been 40 days since the fire, and the coroner still has not released the names of the two women who died.