A Texas family who spent nearly $40,000 to repair their house after last year’s devastating tornado was hit by tragedy Sunday when a fire destroyed their home.

"You start to ask yourself, 'What else? What else?'" David Garcia told WFAA.

New floors had been installed in the Rowlett, Texas, house, one of the final steps toward repairing the house, which was hit by an EF-4 tornado on Dec. 26, 2015.

Garcia and his wife Kendra along with her two grown children and seven dogs, made it out of the house safely.

"It's a loss. As soon as we got across the street, you could see the ceiling coming down," Kendra Garcia told WFAA.

The family said firefighters believe that a faulty chimney or fireplace is to blame. The family lit a fire overnight to keep warm as temperatures plunged.

Most of the family's personal items, including clothes and photos, were lost in the fire, WFAA reported.

Friends and neighbors are collecting donation items for the Garcias, and a GoFundMe page has been created to help the family.

About the Author

Featured

The renovation of Jekyll Island's Great Dunes golf course includes nine holes designed by Walter Travis in the 1920s for the members of the Jekyll Island Club. Several holes that were part of the original layout where located along the beach and were bulldozed in the 1950s.(Photo by Austin Kaseman)

Credit: Photo by Austin Kaseman