Local Artist Giving People Who Lost Homes In Caldor Fire Special Keepsakes

VACAVILLE (CBS13) - A Vacaville woman is using her artistic talent to help those who lost everything in the Caldor Fire, although they may not return to much.

They'll now have a chance to immortalize the home they once knew.

By putting pen to paper, and with every line drawn, Cherise Jackson rebuilds a home that was destroyed by the Caldor Fire.

"It's still really scary. That's a lot of peoples' reality," said Jackson.

More than 500 structures have been destroyed down since the Caldor Fire torched parts of El Dorado County.  And this artist and UC Davis graduate wanted to do something to help her neighbors who were left with nothing.

"You feel like you want to help, [but] what can the average person do?" she said.

But Jackson isn't average. She does illustrations for children's books and creates landscape paintings.

"From a young age, I've just always loved art," she said.

She's now reaching out on social media to fire victims, asking for photos of their homes and offering a free illustration of what they lost. One project is for a family from Grizzly Flats. It's a cabin now gone that had been in their family for 100 years.

"These are the homes they grew up in, like, their entire lives...some people, generations," she said.

By putting her passion into purpose, even though the homes are gone, families will have a forever reminder of what was once there. Sot

"I hope that every time they do look at it, they can really have all those memories," she said. "We can only imagine everything that's happened in those homes they really cherish."

Jackson says she's donating her time and giving away these pieces for free.
Most of the requests are coming from family and friends who know someone who lost their home and want to gift them this piece of art to make this time a little easier