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Central Texas Wildfires
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- First Responder Remembers Bastrop Wildfires
- Insurance Not Enough To Rebuild Homes For Some Bastrop County Fire Victims
- STAR Flight Crew Recalls 2011 Central Texas Labor Day Wildfires
- Bastrop Co. Dispatcher Remembers Fires One Year Later
- Aerial Video Of 2011 Bastrop County Fire
- Former Bastrop County Judge Reflects On Historic Fire
- Bastrop Couple Feels Blessed One Year After Wildfires
- Bastrop Fire Victim Finds Hope In Simple Things
- One Year Later Bastrop Families Still Struggling To Rebuild
- Restoration Begins At Fire-Ravaged Bastrop Park
- Bastrop Honors First Responders For Fire Anniversary
- Firefighters Look Back On Spicewood Wildfire One Year Later
- Bastrop Wildfire Recovery Update, One Year Later
- Campaign Starts To Replace 4 Million Burned Bastrop Trees
Bastrop Honors First Responders For Fire Anniversary
Updated: Tuesday, September 4 2012, 02:39 PM CDT
Tuesday marks the anniversary of one of the most devastating fires in Central Texas history. But on Monday, the Bastrop community remembered the men and women who risked their lives in the fire.
It was one of the most destructive fires in Central Texas history. The Bastrop County Complex Fire destroyed more than 1,600 homes.
"It was kind of tough because I was on one end of the fire and my wife was on the other when the fire started," says Bastrop firefighter Ricky Snell.
Snell and his wife are both firefighters and both were battling the flames the night the fire started. "It was chaotic to begin with and then later on we found out we lost our own house, while we were fighting it, it was pretty rough."
While he and his family have yet to rebuild, they're grateful they still have each other. "The most important part is that we got out with our lives, kids got out with their lives," says Snell.
It's people like Ricky Snell the community came together to honor. Dozens of first responders, just like him, gathered at a local church. The luncheon was a way to honor the people who put their lives on the line. "I know now that they will come in and they will risk their own lives to save our life and our property," says organizer Bernie Jackson.
He says it's the least the community can do to show their appreciation, “I want to say thank you to them, and that is what everyone in Bastrop wants to say, thank you for what you've done and what you continue to do."
Of the more than 1,600 homes destroyed by the fire, some are still in the process of being rebuilt, others have yet to start.
By Lydia Pantazes.
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