HighSchool Fan
12-30-2005, 05:37 PM
Widespread fire takes toll on local residents
By JENNIFER SICKING, Register Staff Writer
NORTHEAST COOKE COUNTY (Gainesville's County)- Kellie Cox realized the irony of one of the few objects she found where her home once stood.
“Of all the things to survive,” she said as she held out her Bluebird of Happiness figurine Wednesday morning. “It was laying right on top and I was able to pick it up.”
Not much else remained of the mobile home where she and her husband Ricky Cox lived since October. It was destroyed Tuesday night when a fast-moving fire swept over it leaving little but ashes behind.
The fire began early Tuesday afternoon north of the Walnut Bend School when wind caused two electrical lines to touch. The spark created by that striking created a fire that was pushed by 40 mph winds and fed by abundant dry grass and brush. After spending Wednesday morning assessing the damage, fire officials said the fire burned an estimated 6,000 acres, destroyed 14 houses, damaged five houses, destroyed or damaged 10 outbuildings and one woman died as she tried to battle the flames. Officials said a large amount of livestock also died in the fire.
Elena Morrison, 63, died Tuesday as she and her husband battled flames around an old Walnut Bend grocery store and their house. She and her husband were shouting back and forth to each other, then he didn't hear her anymore. When the smoke briefly cleared he saw her lying on the ground.
Gainesville Fire Marshal Jody Henry said officials had warned fire departments Tuesday would be one of the worst days of the season for fires. Nine departments - Muenster, Callisburg, Lake Kiowa, Gainesville, Oak Ridge, Moss Lake, Collinsville, Whitesboro and Lindsay - returned Wednesday to continuing battling fires that burned and to put out embers that sparked fires. Precinct 1's tanker trucks also brought water for the firefighters and a grader cut fire breaks in pastures. The Texas Forestry Service sent two dozers and an airplane to survey the damage from Tuesday night.
During Wednesday, that previous night is what residents recounted. Cox said as she drove from her job in Sherman she didn't think the fire was close to her house. She soon found out differently.
“We tried to get out here and couldn't get out here,” she said. “We had friends down here so we knew it was gone.”
She and her husband attempted to drive another route to their house, but smoke and fire turned them back.
“It was just horrendous driving and we couldn't get here,” she said. “We could just see flames shooting up. It was just the most helpless feeling.”
Cox and her husband stayed with a friend in Gainesville and said they've been offered a house in town where they can stay.
“We're insured. We've got our jobs and our cars,” she said. “Everything's replaceable. We'll just start over.”
Everything except a pet, a miniture Schnauzer named Peekaboo, that died in the fire.
“She's been around a long time,” she said. “She's like one of our kids.”
Chad Briley also lamented the loss of his family's pet Yorkshire terrier named Rusty, who became scared and refused to come out from underneath a bed.
“My wife and son couldn't get to him in time,” he said.
Briley said when he first saw the fire it appeared to be five or six miles from his house and went to help a friend move his horses from County Road 114, where the fire also burned through.
“Then the wind changed and it beat me home,” he said. “We lost everything, even one of our cars.”
As he attempted to drive to his house, Briley said he had to change direction once because fire jumped the road. When the fire jumped the road again, he said he had no choice but to drive through it. In a field, he said he saw seven or eight fire tornadoes that reached about 30 feet in the air.
“I just plunged into it and it was sparks, flames and real dark brown smoke,” he said. “If I didn't know the road I wouldn't have made it. When I came out of it, I was past my house and I couldn't see it because of the smoke.”
After meeting up with his family, they attempted to drive to Whitesboro but again encountered racing flames that jumped the road.
“My dad was honking at me,” he said. “The stuff in the back of my truck was on fire - that's how close we were to it.”
Half of the 10 houses on CR 118 burned in the fire, while others also burned on Hogan's Lane and CR 115. Residents in those areas praised the efforts of neighbors and firefighters for saving their homes.
“Todd Harvey is my hero,” Beth Durham said outside of her house on Hogan's Lane. “I'm very thankful to come in and still have my home. If it wasn't for Todd and two firefighters, I wouldn't have it.”
Harvey said he and two others - Dave Adcock and Dusty Luton - assisted him in putting out the grass fires around the houses in his neighborhood.
“It was pretty bad,” he said. “It was just swirling. The wind changed three different times. It would just come around.”
At one time, Harvey estimated flames reached 100 feet in the air as it burned trees.
He denied being a hero though.
“I'm not,” he said. “I just wanted to save what we had.”
Luton then drove up to check on Harvey and to make sure his house survived the fiery night. When Durham realized Luton was one of the men who assisted Harvey, she rushed to him and hugged him.
“Thank you,” she said. “I was praying for God's angels and he sent you guys.”
Luton, who isn't a firefighter, also denied doing anything special.
“It was just me and my neighbor doing what we could,” he said.
Wayne Dodson, who lives on CR 114, praised the Lake Kiowa Volunteer Fire Department and other firefighters for battling to save buildings on his property. He said he was using a dozer to create a fire break on CR 115 when he was notifed his land was on fire.
“I thought we might have a chance at 115, but it jumped,” he said.
His wife loaded up their horses and moved them to a friend's house in Callisburg. Firefighters sprayed down their yearlings to keep them cool and kept the fire from burning the barn, although it burned up to its edge.
Dodson said the fire moved took quickly for firefighters to get in front of it. He also said he saw vortexes of fire swirling in the fields.
“If you'd been on foot you couldn't get out of there,” he said. “It didn't matter if the grass was four inches or two foot, it would just sweep across it.”
Henry urged Cooke County residents to continue to use extreme caution as dangerous fire conditions continued.
“The humidity's low, the wind's high and the fuel is dangerously easy to ignite,” he said. “Please be careful if you're doing anything that may cause a spark.”
He also said people need to take care when they see a fire.
“If there's a fire, go away from it, not in front of it,” he said. “It's unfortunate when we lose a life. If there's a fire approaching, get out and stay out.”
Thursday morning, firefighter crews continued battling fires north of FM 2383 and north of Walnut Bend School. Cooke County Emergency Management Director Ray Fletcher said dozer crews were cutting into the heavily treed property north of FM 2383 so firefighters could attack fires there.
Damage thus far:
Fatalities: 1
Houses destroyed:14
Houses damaged: 5
Outbuildings (barns, sheds, etc.) destroyed: 8
Outbuildings damaged: 2
Acres burned: 6,000
By JENNIFER SICKING, Register Staff Writer
NORTHEAST COOKE COUNTY (Gainesville's County)- Kellie Cox realized the irony of one of the few objects she found where her home once stood.
“Of all the things to survive,” she said as she held out her Bluebird of Happiness figurine Wednesday morning. “It was laying right on top and I was able to pick it up.”
Not much else remained of the mobile home where she and her husband Ricky Cox lived since October. It was destroyed Tuesday night when a fast-moving fire swept over it leaving little but ashes behind.
The fire began early Tuesday afternoon north of the Walnut Bend School when wind caused two electrical lines to touch. The spark created by that striking created a fire that was pushed by 40 mph winds and fed by abundant dry grass and brush. After spending Wednesday morning assessing the damage, fire officials said the fire burned an estimated 6,000 acres, destroyed 14 houses, damaged five houses, destroyed or damaged 10 outbuildings and one woman died as she tried to battle the flames. Officials said a large amount of livestock also died in the fire.
Elena Morrison, 63, died Tuesday as she and her husband battled flames around an old Walnut Bend grocery store and their house. She and her husband were shouting back and forth to each other, then he didn't hear her anymore. When the smoke briefly cleared he saw her lying on the ground.
Gainesville Fire Marshal Jody Henry said officials had warned fire departments Tuesday would be one of the worst days of the season for fires. Nine departments - Muenster, Callisburg, Lake Kiowa, Gainesville, Oak Ridge, Moss Lake, Collinsville, Whitesboro and Lindsay - returned Wednesday to continuing battling fires that burned and to put out embers that sparked fires. Precinct 1's tanker trucks also brought water for the firefighters and a grader cut fire breaks in pastures. The Texas Forestry Service sent two dozers and an airplane to survey the damage from Tuesday night.
During Wednesday, that previous night is what residents recounted. Cox said as she drove from her job in Sherman she didn't think the fire was close to her house. She soon found out differently.
“We tried to get out here and couldn't get out here,” she said. “We had friends down here so we knew it was gone.”
She and her husband attempted to drive another route to their house, but smoke and fire turned them back.
“It was just horrendous driving and we couldn't get here,” she said. “We could just see flames shooting up. It was just the most helpless feeling.”
Cox and her husband stayed with a friend in Gainesville and said they've been offered a house in town where they can stay.
“We're insured. We've got our jobs and our cars,” she said. “Everything's replaceable. We'll just start over.”
Everything except a pet, a miniture Schnauzer named Peekaboo, that died in the fire.
“She's been around a long time,” she said. “She's like one of our kids.”
Chad Briley also lamented the loss of his family's pet Yorkshire terrier named Rusty, who became scared and refused to come out from underneath a bed.
“My wife and son couldn't get to him in time,” he said.
Briley said when he first saw the fire it appeared to be five or six miles from his house and went to help a friend move his horses from County Road 114, where the fire also burned through.
“Then the wind changed and it beat me home,” he said. “We lost everything, even one of our cars.”
As he attempted to drive to his house, Briley said he had to change direction once because fire jumped the road. When the fire jumped the road again, he said he had no choice but to drive through it. In a field, he said he saw seven or eight fire tornadoes that reached about 30 feet in the air.
“I just plunged into it and it was sparks, flames and real dark brown smoke,” he said. “If I didn't know the road I wouldn't have made it. When I came out of it, I was past my house and I couldn't see it because of the smoke.”
After meeting up with his family, they attempted to drive to Whitesboro but again encountered racing flames that jumped the road.
“My dad was honking at me,” he said. “The stuff in the back of my truck was on fire - that's how close we were to it.”
Half of the 10 houses on CR 118 burned in the fire, while others also burned on Hogan's Lane and CR 115. Residents in those areas praised the efforts of neighbors and firefighters for saving their homes.
“Todd Harvey is my hero,” Beth Durham said outside of her house on Hogan's Lane. “I'm very thankful to come in and still have my home. If it wasn't for Todd and two firefighters, I wouldn't have it.”
Harvey said he and two others - Dave Adcock and Dusty Luton - assisted him in putting out the grass fires around the houses in his neighborhood.
“It was pretty bad,” he said. “It was just swirling. The wind changed three different times. It would just come around.”
At one time, Harvey estimated flames reached 100 feet in the air as it burned trees.
He denied being a hero though.
“I'm not,” he said. “I just wanted to save what we had.”
Luton then drove up to check on Harvey and to make sure his house survived the fiery night. When Durham realized Luton was one of the men who assisted Harvey, she rushed to him and hugged him.
“Thank you,” she said. “I was praying for God's angels and he sent you guys.”
Luton, who isn't a firefighter, also denied doing anything special.
“It was just me and my neighbor doing what we could,” he said.
Wayne Dodson, who lives on CR 114, praised the Lake Kiowa Volunteer Fire Department and other firefighters for battling to save buildings on his property. He said he was using a dozer to create a fire break on CR 115 when he was notifed his land was on fire.
“I thought we might have a chance at 115, but it jumped,” he said.
His wife loaded up their horses and moved them to a friend's house in Callisburg. Firefighters sprayed down their yearlings to keep them cool and kept the fire from burning the barn, although it burned up to its edge.
Dodson said the fire moved took quickly for firefighters to get in front of it. He also said he saw vortexes of fire swirling in the fields.
“If you'd been on foot you couldn't get out of there,” he said. “It didn't matter if the grass was four inches or two foot, it would just sweep across it.”
Henry urged Cooke County residents to continue to use extreme caution as dangerous fire conditions continued.
“The humidity's low, the wind's high and the fuel is dangerously easy to ignite,” he said. “Please be careful if you're doing anything that may cause a spark.”
He also said people need to take care when they see a fire.
“If there's a fire, go away from it, not in front of it,” he said. “It's unfortunate when we lose a life. If there's a fire approaching, get out and stay out.”
Thursday morning, firefighter crews continued battling fires north of FM 2383 and north of Walnut Bend School. Cooke County Emergency Management Director Ray Fletcher said dozer crews were cutting into the heavily treed property north of FM 2383 so firefighters could attack fires there.
Damage thus far:
Fatalities: 1
Houses destroyed:14
Houses damaged: 5
Outbuildings (barns, sheds, etc.) destroyed: 8
Outbuildings damaged: 2
Acres burned: 6,000