Latest news with #RebuildTexas
Yahoo
24-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Crabapple Fire: How you can help residents who lost homes
The Brief The Crabapple Fire in Gillespie County is now out. Nine homes were destroyed in the fire. The Woods family is looking to rebuild their home. The fast-moving Crabapple Fire that burned nearly 10,000 acres near Fredericksburg is finally out. Investigators are continuing to look into what sparked the fire as residents are seeing the damage the blaze left behind. What they're saying Isabella Woods' first home with her husband was destroyed in the Crabapple Fire. The two were in their upstairs apartment above the garage when the fire tore across their property. Charles Woods, Isabella's father, was working on remodeling the home next door. The house had been in their family for generations. "There was just a wall of fire and it just kept getting bigger and bigger. I literally tried to fight it off as long as I could," Woods said. "I think of all the memories, I have a lot of sadness I have a lot of anger but I'm trying really hard to put that in a better energy, try to move forward, clean up and rebuild." Help has poured in since last weekend, including more than $6,500 in donations to the family's GoFundMe from people looking to help. "It's hard to look for the good, but you know what, things like this happen and there's a lot of good things that come out of this. A lot of good people that come around and there's still good people out there and we're getting a lot of support, a lot of help," said Charles Woods. The Woods say it will take a while to rebuild, but they plan to do it for the next generation. "I feel very hopeful. I've got my husband. I've got my dogs and cats and I'm glad to be able to have the opportunity where we can start over and hopefully get somewhere again," said Isabella Woods. What you can do Gillespie County partnered with the OneStar Foundation and Rebuild Texas to create the Crabapple Fire Relief Fund. Fox 7 Austin also received another GoFundMe for a nearby family's workshop that was lost to the fire The backstory The fire began as a grass fire around 1 p.m. on March 15, just 11 miles north of Fredericksburg between Lower Crabapple Road and Landrum Creek. Smoke from the fire could be seen in Austin. Damage assessments from the Texas A&M Forest Service and the Texas Division of Emergency Management are listed below: Nine homes were destroyed – seven were possibly occupied and two were not occupied. Two homes damaged 20 outbuildings destroyed Four outbuildings damaged Before it was put out, the fire burned 9,858 acres. The Source Information in this article comes from FOX 7 interviews with the Woods family, the Texas A&M Forest Service and Fredericksburg Fire EMS.
Yahoo
17-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Shelter open, donations being accepted for those affected by wildfire near Fredericksburg
AUSTIN (KXAN) — The Crabapple Fire near Fredericksburg has burned more than 9,700 acres as of Monday morning. The disaster prompted evacuations for many in the area, and affected local ranchers and livestock, according to the city of Fredericksburg. Here are ways you can help support them. Firefighter injured in 9,700+ acre wildfire near Fredericksburg The fire started around 1 p.m. Saturday in the 8700 block of Crabapple Road, which is 11 miles north of Fredericksburg, according to the city. As of Monday, the fire was 9,737 acres and 65% contained, according to the Texas A&M Forest Service. According to the city, it wasn't immediately clear how many people were evacuated or displaced. In a Facebook post, The Gillespie County Texas A&M AgriLife Extension shared the livestock supply point location they created to help facilitate donations for fire relief. The supply point is located at the Gillespie County Fairgrounds off 530 Fair Drive. Donations of hay, feed, and fencing supplies for cattle, sheep, and goats are most needed, the post said. The supplies can be dropped off at the fairgrounds which will be open between the hours of 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. The AgriLife Extension team has teamed up with local donation partners to help make the process simple, if you purchase supplies from the following locations, they will make sure your donations are sent directly to the livestock supply point. Behrends Feed & Fertilizer Lochte Feed & General Store Allied Ag Service Inc Kerrville Ranch & Pet Center Gillespie County is receiving support from OneStar Foundation's Rebuild Texas fund to establish the Crabapple Disaster Fund. Donations to this fund will provide those affected with 'emergency aid, essential supplies, long-term recovery assistance to help families rebuild their homes, restore their land, and restart their businesses,' the OneStar relief fund said. The city said this is the best way to help. Additionally friends, family, and neighbors have teamed up to help each other recover from this devastating fire. Resident Matt Durrette said in a Facebook post, 'We love this town. Fredericksburg has always been a strong community, but right now, it needs us.' Durrette and other local community members hope to raise $10,000 that would help with rebuilding homes, help farmers and ranchers recover from any loss, and provide resources to first responders and food, water, and basic supplies for all affected. Donations can be made to the community GoFundMe. The Zion Lutheran Church in Fredericksburg remained open as a shelter and served five people at last check, the city said. On Sunday, KXAN reported at least seven people sought temporary shelter at the church. Among those in the church were a mother and four children aged 8-15 and two tourists who were on vacation from France, according to the Red Cross. 'At lunch time [Saturday] we heard about the fire and that all the roads were closed and that we couldn't go back to our cabins because it was very close to the fire,' said Marie Dominique Defondaumiere. 'And then we heard about the shelter because we had confirmation that we couldn't go back to the cabins. So, we found the shelter and we had no place to go. And we found a very, very nice welcome for the people from the Red Cross and the pastor.' Elisabeth Petrus said her heart medication was in her suitcase that she couldn't get to. She said she planned to reach out to a doctor after she and Defondaumiere evacuated. They both hoped to return to rental homes and suitcases 'not up in ashes.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
