A brash of Labor Day weekend fires brought out an outpouring of community and school support. To help out the families who lost their homes, Student Council collected clothing donations for the fire victims.

“We got more donations than we knew what to do with,” Student Council sponsor Debbie Gauna said. “The boxes filled the back and inside of my truck, we had well over 1,000 items.”

Some of the donations were delivered to the Free Garage Sale on Oct. 17, and some were given to the Leander Clothes Closet. Some nice dresses and coats will be donated to fire victims in Bastrop.

“We had an overwhelming response from everybody, both students and teachers,” Gauna said. “It was an easy way for the kids to help, all they had to do was go into their closet and pick something. Everyone wanted to pitch in and help.”

The amount of donations the school received was astounding.

“My eyes widened when I walked into Ms. Gauna’s office seeing the piles of clothes,” junior Khione Stevenson said. “There was an unbelievable amount of clothes of all kinds.”

Panic struck the community on Labor Day weekend as smoke clouded the sky. Three wildfires flared up in the Leander area, forcing hundreds of people to evacuate. A total of 11 homes were destroyed and eight more were damaged. The devastation of the fire burned a total of about 300 acres. The cost of the damage was about $1.4 million.

Besides the Leander area fires, firefighters also had to battle fires in Bastrop and Steiner Ranch. The Bastrop fire raged until Sep. 30, covering more than 30,000 acres and destroying more than 1,500 homes.  In Steiner Ranch fire, 125 acres burned, destroying 24 homes and damaging 30.

Rouse and Vandegrift High School served as Red Cross shelters Labor Day Weekend, with six LISD schools closed Tuesday, Sept. 6.  Bastrop students returned back to school the following week, Sept. 12.

Police believe one of the Leander fires was set intentionally by four teenagers. There is a $2,000 reward for any information leading to them. 

One of the neighborhoods that had to evacuate was Mason Creek. Sophomore Lauren Palmer was one of hundreds of people who came to campus as the school became a makeshift Red Cross shelter.

“My first thought was ‘Oh my goodness, something bad is about to happen,’ ” Palmer said. “I felt numb; I couldn’t believe it had happened to my family. It was really scary.”

 Thankfully, Palmer’s house was fine, and she was able to return two days after she evacuated.

“Going back, I just felt pure relief,” Palmer said. “It dawned on me that I have so much. I’m really sad for the people who lost their homes, though; definitely mixed feelings.”

Senior Rebekah Odom also had to evacuate her house, staying with grandparents for a month.

“I thought I was going to lose everything,” Odom said. “I was really scared that my house was going to get burned.”

 A few days after the fire, Odom returned home to view the damage. The whole foundation of her house and some of her neighbors’ houses were destroyed. They had to wait a month to return, because the whole house had to be reinsulated and repainted.

“I was very relieved, shocked that the whole house didn’t burn,” Odom said. “I just wish I’d trusted God more that He was going to take care of it.”

From the Leander Fire Department, Lieutenant Chuck Garrison was one of the firefighters on duty during the fire.

“My crew and I were up working for 24 hours without rest,” Garrison said. “I was afraid that we weren’t going to have enough resources.”

Although the fires were eventually taken under control, there is still danger of more fires with the current dry weather conditions.

“The fire danger will continue until we have some good rain,” Garrison said. “All families should have a plan in the event of a fire in their home.”

Garrison is appreciative of the community’s efforts to help the fire victims and the fire department.

“Local churches, schools, and businesses have been gracious in their donations and support.” Garrison said. “It has been a highlight to me and my crew to see the love and support our fire department has from the community we serve.”