FREDERICKSBURG, Texas — When the Crabapple fire sparked Saturday afternoon, Janet Proch and her family rushed to evacuate. When she got to town, she was left to wonder – what would happen to her home of 18 years?
“It is just the strangest bit of waiting,” Proch said.
As the massive fire continued to grow, Proch and her family eventually returned Sunday.
“Everything is black. It’s just black,” Proch said. “Driving up was just an out of body experience. It’s total devastation.”
The shop at their family home is completely destroyed, affecting Janet’s husband’s livelihood as a furniture builder. For Proch, it is difficult seeing a portion of their life and home gone.
“So the chicken coop, which was this darling little plastic stucco chicken coop, is ashes,” Proch said. “So with all the chickens in it, they’re gone.”
What is left standing is their main house.
“It felt very surreal, like this very strange mix of grief and gratitude,” Proch said.
For anyone impacted by the fire, Courtni Munson with Cozi Vacation Rentals says they are offering a free place for them to stay and recoup.
“I’ve been in the Hill Country for about 10 years and I have not experienced winds like this before,” Munson said. “Even though we do get a lot of tourism here, we are still a small town in Texas and our locals are coming together to provide support.”
That support is something that Proch and her family are leaning on.
“When someone else is hurting or experiencing crisis, you just sit with them and you just be there,” Proch said.
They are lessons learned as they rebuild from the ashes.
Anyone in need of a place to stay in the aftermath of the fire can contact Cozi’s customer service team at 830-999-2694.
The Crabapple fire is 95% contained, according to the Texas A&M Forest Service. A GoFundMe has also been set up to help the Proch family.
To support recovery efforts from the Crabapple Fire, Gillespie County has partnered with the OneStar Foundation and Rebuild Texas to establish the Crabapple Fire Relief Fund. It is the only approved online donation portal. Donations can be made here.