When you say tree, do you mean a single trunk of some length with branches at the top or did your fuchsia look more like a shrub with several branches coming out of the ground?
There are quite a few varieties of fuchsia that are winter hardy in zone 8 if the rootball is planted deep enough. Although the top of the plant dies back in winter fresh growth comes up from the rootball in the spring.

If your plant was a 'tree' fuchsia it would have to have been given winter protection, somewhere it wouldn't freeze, given just enough water to keep the roots from drying out.

With fuchsias that are left in the ground over winter don't cut the dead looking branches off in the spring until you can see where new growth is coming from, then cut just above where you see new growth or to shape.

Whichever type you had it looks like the root survived the winter, the new growth appearing now will grow and flower.

Check out ccfuchsia.net there is a lot of great info there. There is also a northwest fuchsia society and people you may contact to help you with your fuchsia needs. You can also probably have access to thousands of varieties :)

Hi
Thank you for the info.
It is a shrub type, I guess. Not the trailing type.
The larger plant is very wilted, I hope it makes it. The smaller one seems fine.
I really like these kinds of fuchsias. They just keep on blooming!