Connecting Carbon After Deadly Wildfire
West Texas Community Determined to Rebuild
“151 structures burned to the ground, in Carbon we had a complete loss of 84 homes” the Mayor of Carbon, Cory Hull stated. That’s a lot for a town occupied by just a little over 200 people, 212 residents to be exact.
The Eastland Complex Fire started on March 17th — and as the Mayor and lifetime resident, City Secretary Sylvia Gosnell will tell you, they knew their town needed aid immediately.
The Texas wildfire burned more than 54,000 acres and claimed the life of Eastland County Deputy Sergeant, Barbara Fenley who selflessly carried out door to door evacuations and warned citizens of the fast moving fire. Sgt. Fenley was last heard on the radio saying she was on her way to warn elderly neighbors, shortly before her vehicle veered off the road in heavy smoke.
The local fire department, mostly made up of volunteers, battled both the fire — and communications issues.
Power lines were quickly consumed by the fire, and the entire City of Carbon remained in the dark for 36 hours. While trying to organize evacuations, city officials were attempting to reach out to the power company for assistance — everything would need to be replaced… Which as the mayor points out, is a “major understatement.”
“Communication is absolutely the first thing you need. ITDRC’s time and donations to us has been a very important part of that puzzle” said Mayor Hull.
Responding to a request from Texas’ Disaster Recovery Task Force, ITDRC supplied power and WiFi connectivity to the town’s modest City Hall building which was narrowly spared.
“The WIFI is more than just for first responders” Mayor Hull said, “It was used all over town because it was something everyone needed”
Residents were encouraged to file damage reports online and submit photos of damaged property — a task that proved difficult for some. ITDRC volunteers setup a bank of computers in the city office, where Sylvia Gosnell helps residents patiently.
One retired rancher, William Jackson said “I’ve lost everything…don’t know where to start” Jackson paused, “it’s good to still have our community.”
Gosnell watches as locals and firefighters gather around City Hall, and says one of the biggest things helping her get through this is by helping other folks, “that can be the only focus after something like this.” Her desk sits across from the cell phone charging station ITDRC installed in her office. Most every person that walks through her door, she’s known since birth, “Everyone knows she’s got a huge heart” says Mayor Hull “That’s how folks are around here.”
“Because y’all came here, people had a chance to connect with their families and friends because they were able to hook up to the internet” said Mayor Hull.
Now with the fire at 100% containment, Gosnell says Carbon is focused on moving forward and bringing in resources to help residents.
When asked if he suffered a personal loss, Mayor Hull said he’s answering that particular question with the only logical response…everyone lost something.
“ My answer is yes, 84 homes. We are a tight community and as a community we are all affected by this. Everyone that’s affected, in turn affects you. We feel that pain, we cry with people, pray with people, counsel people, give money to people and it’s not just a personal loss that affects you. When something like this happens, everything affects you. We all feel this. And we’ll lean on each other to move forward.”
To support Carbon’s recovery efforts, contact United Rescue Alliance at 325–310–4883 or e-mail info@unitedrescuealliance.org. To learn more about ITDRC’s efforts Connecting Communities in Crisis, visit itdrc.org
