Community mourns loss of children killed in fire

By Chris Lundstrom

Publisher/Editor

It was every parent’s nightmare. A fire in the home and five of the six children didn’t get out. Annabel Peralez and Johnny Hernandez lost their mobile home on Rowlett St. in Edna early in the morning on Nov. 25, just three days before Thanksgiving. The couple’s youngest child, Johnny Hernandez III, 4, escaped with the parents, but the fire quickly engulfed the home, preventing the father and Edna firefighters from saving the siblings. Annabel suffered injuries from escaping through the window, but was released from the hospital later in the week. 

A candlelight vigil was held that evening for the kids, Noah, 15, Nicholas, 13, and Julian Ortiz, 11, and Areyanah, 5, and  Lilyana Hernandez, 6. Family members and friends gathered to remember the children and pray for those left behind.