PROGRESO – A Progreso man is back in his home after a fire destroyed part of his house in July.

Ricardo Cortes said the fire destroyed seven cars, a garage port, as well as his kitchen.

He said he had no home insurance. As a result, nearly 13 members of his family were forced to live with relatives and friends while they saved money to repair the home.

Cortes said a few weeks ago, he and his family finally saved enough money to begin the repair effort.

“My sons have come together and helped reconstruct the kitchen and I a little bit of the roof. They tried to reconstruct everything again,” he said.

Cortes told us his home is still weeks away from being completely repaired.

He expects the total cost to reach approximately $12,000.