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MARANA - A woman is dead after a mobile home fire broke out Wednesday afternoon in Marana. She has been identified as 55-year old Betty Chrestman.

Officials said they responded around 2:15 pm to 10503 N. Wasson in the Picture Rocks area.

"Hard to accept because I just talked to her this morning," said friend and neighbor Dan Chavez.

Chavez was the best man at the victim's wedding. He says she was a 55-year-old widow and lived on the same plot of land as her relatives. But it was only her mobile home that burned down.

"Her dad apparently tried to break the door down and fell back," Chavez said.

"We know that the victim was close to the doorway, it appears as though she was trying to make her way to the door to get out...but again, all the circumstances behind what happened is very difficult to tell until we can get in there," said Adam Goldberg with the Northwest Fire District.

Goldberg said because of the rural area and the time of the fire, it went unnoticed for at least a half hour. By the time they arrived, it was fully engulfed.

"They had so much fire, they were not able to make an entry into the building to search for victims. If firefighters cannot get into the building with their protective equipment on, the chances of survival of somebody inside of that structure are very slim," Goldberg said.

Firefighters also had to work carefully around a downed live power line. After the fire was out, they worked to preserve what was left inside to save evidence for the investigation.

Neighbors and relatives said the woman was smoking and dropped part of the cigarette in the home, but officials can only confirm the fire started in the family room. No word on the cause just yet.

"We're going to miss her. She missed her husband a lot, and she loved her husband very dearly...but she's up there with her husband," Chavez said.

Goldberg said the autopsy will be completed Thursday morning.