NATCHEZ — Lene Zimmerman tells it straight. 

“It has been a rough year,” she said.

She is also quick to point out how blessed her family is.

The Zimmermans’ house caught fire in early February because of a faulty central heating unit.

The blaze claimed their home and their pet chihuahua Lady Bug.

They were left with practically nothing.

Luckily, Lene’s parents live a few houses down the road, so the three Zimmermans, Lene, Billy, and their granddaughter Heidi, 11, moved into a single room at their house.

Eight months later, when The Dart landed on Vine Street in Natchez Wednesday, the Zimmermans were relaxing in the house they moved into in June. It neighbors their old house.

“We would never have made it without those around us,” Lene said.

Following the fire, Billy and Lene did not have a lot of hope.

“After the fire, we didn’t know what to do,” Billy said. “We didn’t have insurance, we didn’t have clothes.”

Billy, 61, had lived in the house his whole life, and Lene grew up next door.

“One advantage to living in a small town all your life is a lot of people know you,” Billy said.

Once word got out, donations started flooding in.

“Clothes, furniture, money, it was amazing and completely unexpected,” Lene said.

Heidi was a fifth-grader at Adams County Christian School at the time and was amazed at the generosity of her peers and educators.

“I was given a whole bedroom set,” she said. “And we only bought a few of the clothes in my closet.”

What they have received from the community are not just material possessions, but peace of mind.

“We are comfortable,” Lene said. “We went from having nothing to having a house for God know how many years.”

Still, their old home, which all three Zimmermans feel they were raised in, looms next door as a constant reminder.

“I guess the next step is getting someone out here to tear down the place,” Billy said.

For the family, it will not be so easy to let go.

“I grew up in that house,” Heidi said. “I have so many great memories inside that house, but it’s time we start making new memories in this house.”