Texas Wildfire Claims Forum Members Home

gball · 09-05-2011, 07:03 AM

A wildfire northwest of Austin claimed the home of Larry & Eileen Day (Dayle1) yesterday. I spoke with Larry about 30 minutes ago and he said that they saw the fire coming and were able to load some things in the trailer and get out before it was too late. Larry stated that they are fine and are currently camped at a Baptist Encampment close to Austin.

**Lloyd** · 09-09-2011, 08:24 AM

Does anyone have any further information they would care to pass along?

seabee · 09-09-2011, 08:54 AM

Kieth [hunter11] has started a benefit fund for Larry and eileen a couple of days ago.
the thread title is "benefit fund" in the base camp topic section.
Hopefully, there will be a large response.

Edited by: seabee

Hunter11 · 09-09-2011, 09:23 AM

We are going out to help Larry and Eileen tomorrow. I have talked to Larry the last couple of days and he said everything is gone. We will take some pictures of the area while we are out there. As of yesterday I believe the fires around the Austin area had burned over 80,000 acres since last Sunday. Beverly and I had bought 5 acres about a mile from where Larry lives a couple of years ago and had intended to build a house on it.A better deal came along and we sold it and we know it will be burned. Two people I work with lost their homes to the Bastrop fire that burned so many acres East of Austin. Beverly and I donated today to a group that is trying to house and take care of all the animals displaced by all these fires. I am also worried about another forum member "timnbarb" who I know lives in the Bastrop area where the big fire was.

Bastrop State Park which was one of our favorite parks because it was so close to our house was right in the middle of all this. The park is 6000 acres and all but 100 acres burned. It must have been a nightmare trying to get all the Labor Day weekend campers out before the fire engulfed the park. Here is a link to some of the pictures from last weekend.

http://www.kvue.com/news/slideshows/...=y&ref=%2F

Texas1949 · 09-09-2011, 09:33 AM

If there is anything I can do let me know.
I have been trading email with Larry and offered my assistance and my home if needed.
I am in Fort Worth.

timnbarb · 09-09-2011, 01:51 PM

timnbarb · 09-09-2011, 01:58 PM

We are safe and sound - thank you for your concern. We are 5 miles from the Big Fire - about 1 1/2 miles from Union Chapel Fire. Monday night had a fire start 1/2 mile from the house - discovered how nice it was to have the trailer hooked up and ready to go. Currently providing some temp housing for some of church family with the trailer - so it has served a double blessing.

dalemac377 · 09-09-2011, 02:02 PM

Carol and I are so sorry to here of Larry and Eileen's lose. We will say a prayer for them and all the others who have suffered so much.

gball · 09-10-2011, 12:40 AM

Tim & Barbara:

Glad to hear that you folks are ok. That fire has been horrible and our thoughts and prayers go out to all who lost their homes and family members in the fire.

**Lloyd** · 09-10-2011, 12:46 AM

Thanks for posting the info.

Hunter11 · 09-10-2011, 06:18 AM

Well we just got back from Larry and Eileen's place. First they want everyone on the forum they are doing fine and appreciate all the well wishes we passed along. Afterhaving lived out in this area for over 20 years until a couple of years ago itwas heart breaking for Beverly and I to see the destruction to this area. They have cleared a lot of the rubble that was left from the fire and sifted through what was left and there was not much. It was unbelievable they way the fire went through the area and left some homes untouched and completely destroyed others. It took three houses in a row (Larry's being the middle one) and left the one behind him and across the road from them. They are not going to let this get them down and do plan to rebuild. It was very refreshing to see the community coming together to help all their neighbors. Below are just a few of the pictures we took while we were there.

http://s334.photobucket.com/albums/m...57/Day%20Fire/

geondebi · 09-10-2011, 12:27 PM

The pictures speak for them selves as for the loss in the area. We just feel so sorry for Larry and Eileen and so many more of your fellow Texans with the same loss. With some hope in the near future rain can come in a help put out the fires still burning.

Dayle1 · 09-13-2011, 12:04 PM

Thanks for everyone's prayers and concerns, Eileen and I are in much better shape than so many other families in Central Tx. We are blessed with two homes and only one burned, so we have most of our critical needs covered, even our own sat. TV. The Cruiser is set up at the nearby Baptist camp we volunteer at. Laundry and showers available when we come in so dirty each day. All we need is some cooler weather, oh and rain. Even yesterday, more than a week after the fire, I had to dump several 5 gal. buckets of water on a smoldering tree. We are blessed with more help than we really need and should have the worst of the cleanup done in the next 1 or 2 days. So far we have removed almost 12,000 lbs of metal for recycle and about the same amount of trash. A chainsaw team from our Disaster Relief group is also working on downed trees in the neighborhood. Hopefully another team will mulch the branches to provide some protection against future erosion.

Besides our house, relatives on both sides of us, lost their homes as well.

Finally some background, Eileen's sister-in-law has been in ICU for over 6 weeks with just a 5% chance of recovery. On the day of the fire, we were going to the brother's house to do some house cleaning while Dan was at the hospital. Eileen's niece asked me to stay home, otherwise I would not have been home to save the Cruiser and our pets. Within two hrs of my evacuation, west of Austin, Eileen and her niece had to evacuate the other house in the Bastrop fire, east of Austin. Fortunately, it was saved. But the biggest news is that the SIL has made a big turn-around in the last week and is on the road to recovery.

Chrisnan23 · 09-13-2011, 12:20 PM

Very good news indeed!

gball · 09-13-2011, 12:58 PM

Larry & Eileen:

Good to hear from you. We will continue to keep everyone in our thoughts and prayers. And we hope for the best for Eileen's SIL and hope that she makes a full recovery.

cwit · 09-13-2011, 10:10 PM

Glad to here things are starting to turn around. I don't know what I would do in your place.

**Lloyd** · 09-13-2011, 11:51 PM

Larry:
It sure is good to hear from you. You guys have been in our thoughts a lot lately. I know you still have a long struggle ahead, but it sounds like you have help, support, and a positive outlook. With all that, you will be able to see light at the end of the tunnel soon.

fhenn · 09-14-2011, 11:34 AM

Great news Larry we will continue to pray

Dayle1 · 09-16-2011, 11:38 AM

On Wed. I used the camp's skidsteer to finish trash removal, well the serious stuff. Yesterday was an ez day, finally leveled the Cruiser, set the rear jacks and hooked up the sewer lines. Also plenty of phone calls and internet research on metal buildings. We got some rain today, not much on our property, but in the area. First I had to remember where the windshield wiper switch was located, then needed to hit it with a hammer to free it up.

Tomorrow will be a busy day, several chain saw crews, three chippers and lots of help cleaning up the neighborhood.

Local support is outstanding, too much to mention, especially for those w/o insurance or unsure how to proceed. Red Cross? Gave me a booklet! FEMA? Shook my hand and collected info so they could compile numbers for Washington! Insurance co. has been great, check came today for the full amount, never needed to list the contents. The agent knows I'm using volunteer help, but says he will 'pay' them an hourly rate to use up all the available cleanup funds, so there is some recordkeeping required.

So glad I had many of my mods finished on the Cruiser. The recliners opposite the TV are great and we use the ottomans with the recliners or the sofa. Under the sofa, there are 3 fire safes, 2 sewing machines, three 12 packs of soft drinks and room left over. Haven't used the storage behind the sofa yet or the storage under the bed. But soon I have to find a place for a 40 lb bag of dog food. Having a desk sure helps with paperwork and drawings. And placement of lights and switches in the living area are great. My biggest issue is with the angled frig., there is no insulation in the cabinet wall and the tstat is mounted on it, so when it is 103 outside, the tstat is reading 91 while real inside temp is right at 80.

martinstwopopfarm · 09-16-2011, 10:14 PM

I am glad things are falling in place for you. Last week was a hot one down there, it was good to feel itcooling down on Thursday. I hope the cool weather sticks around for you. I just returned home from Bastrop yesterday as I have completed the work I had down their. You and all the others down there will continue in my prayers as the area rebuilds. I was good to see all the community support.

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