A very good but long and very tough read about the Panhandle fires back in March of this year:

The Day The Fire Came

Tough read.

The panhandle is an amazing place. Harsh, rugged and beautiful....and I think partially because of the climate and the attitude required to live in and love it, the panhandle is filled with wonderful, generous people.

Thanks for posting the article.

As a Dad and son, the most powerful part of that was that Cody's dad found him still alive. What a painful, yet blessed, few minutes for both of them.

I believe that The Texas Panhandle is one of the few places in the country that can handle this kind of situation. The outpouring of support from the community was amazing and inspired the rest of the state to step up and we were then overwhelmed with help.

This story brings back up those painful thoughts from that time. We farm in Moore County, Texas and we were absolutely blessed to have been missed by these fires. Folks sometimes don't understand why we get so upset to see drivers throwing cigarettes out of the window. We have seen the aftermath of a grass fire and it's an awful sight.

Finally finished reading it. Well written, tough to read.

I didn't know any of those folks personally, But I "know" them well. The rich, the poor, the farmers, the ranchers, the cowboys, the kids who attend WT. I see them every day. God didn't make this Panhandle land very scenic, he didn't make the weather very forgiving. He just made a bunch of crazy people who love it anyway.

If you'll pardon a little bragging on Panhandle folk.....

Dad was (edit for correct age) 23 when he was stricken with polio in 1952. Though he made an amazing, full recovery, he spent 17 days in an iron lung. He had moved from near Big Spring to the Panhandle/South Plains in 1951, but the community treated him like one of their own. The neighboring farmers helped mom plow the cotton and take care of the farm. Dad never forgot it.

Neither did we boys. I can't tell you how many hours I spent on a tractor on someone else's farm who needed help. I don't think Dad ever felt like he had repaid that debt.

Years later, I found myself in a corn field next to a new widow, age 30. Ours was one of a dozen farm families finishing the harvest that her husband no longer could. I was a few years out of A&M, I was doing less than a lot of people there, but I was the one who got hugged when she got overwhelmed with emotion. You don't forget that kind of thing.

I plowed a few acres for a reservist who got deployed to Iraq. He and I later harvested the crop of an elderly neighbor who was in the hospital.

Dad passed on Christmas morning 2011. I called our Dad's pastor, but I don't recall calling anyone else in the community, though my brother may have. It snowed several inches that day, but by the time we got home from the hospital around noon, neighbors were at Mom's house with food. They left their family Christmas to take care of us.

No one ever seems to feel put out or taken advantage of. We tend to take care of each other more than some places, I guess, because we all face the same challenges.

And while we count ourselves lucky if we never need a hand, we know that our neighbors will be there for us.

Three years ago, our combine burned to the ground while we were harvesting wheat. A neighbor drive by saw what was going on, ran to his house, jumped into his tractor and plowed around the combine saving the rest of the crop. Before the fire department left, the same neighbor returned with his combine and began cutting the remaining wheat without a single word being exchanged.

Fast forward to corn harvest the next year, his haul truck burned up and we pulled into his farm with another grain cart, combine and our truck and helped them get it finished again without a word spoken.

I grew up in SE Texas and relocated out here about 15 years ago. I've made my home here and get to enjoy the company of farmers everyday with my job. Some of the finest people in the world are in the Texas Panhandle.

for jtp01 and his neighbors

Dutcher Creek said:

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As a Dad and son, the most powerful part of that was that Cody's dad found him still alive. What a painful, yet blessed, few minutes for both of them.

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That's when I lost it. Didn't have the privilege of knowing any of those three but have several mutual friends. Hadn't heard that Cody and Sloan were found alive through that hell.

There's something about folks in rural areas that band together when disaster strikes. I believe it is Christ loving us through difficult times by using the hands and feet of those that love Him.

You're right Dutcher. There was a blessing amidst the strife.