Man dies trying to rebuild home he lost in High Park Fire
Gjorgy Vidacs (Thea Ackerman)
FORT COLLINS, Colo. – An elderly man who survived the High Park Fire died earlier this week trying to rebuild his home.
The Coloradoan reports that Hungarian immigrant Gjorgy Vidacs died Wednesday night on his Rist Canyon property. The Larimer County coroner confirmed he suffered a heart attack, apparently while he was working to rebuild his home of more than 50 years, according to the paper.
The 84-year-old came to the U.S. in 1956, and after the fire broke out in June, he stayed with friends until the canyon re-opened to residents. Although Vidacs never married and had no children, he had a lot of friends surrounding him according to the newspaper.
Liam Rooney, one of Vidac’s friends told the paper he was “just the kind of guy who was immediately friends with everyone.” He was “known for helping people when they were in a jam and never wanting anything in return,” Rooney said.
Vidacs apparently asked friends to help him plan a party to celebrate his home’s 50th anniversary before the High Park fire erupted earlier this summer. Friends say he was recently living on his property in a “big, stand-up Army” tent until he died, according to the paper.
Vidacs would have been 85 in October.
