By Shelby Shank
Field Editor
The Crabapple Fire—fueled by extreme drought conditions, high winds and low humidity—burned 9,858 acres north of Fredericksburg last month.
The fire started March 15 and was fully contained six days after it first ignited.
“I think all of us in Central Texas and beyond were quite aware of the extreme dry conditions that we are in,” said Steve Olfers, Gillespie County Farm Bureau president. “We’ve all been walking on pins and needles for a while and expecting the worst, hoping for the best. The conditions as they were, it was a particularly nasty day with extremely high winds and low humidity. It was a recipe for disaster.”
For many, the devastation extends far beyond burned structures. Several families lost their homes, while farmers and ranchers suffered losses of livestock, pastures, barns and miles of fencing.
At first, firefighters believed they could contain the blaze quickly, but conditions made that impossible.
“We initially went in with the mindset of getting this fire controlled and put out, but it quickly evolved into getting people to safety first,” said Olfers, who is also a member of the Fredericksburg Fire Department and Gillespie County Fire Marshal.
Leland Geistweidt, a rancher in Gillespie County, was fortunate the fire was six miles south of his property, with the wind pushing it in the opposite direction. But his wife’s grandmother’s home stood directly in the fire’s path.
“We were out there all day when deputies came around and told us to evacuate,” he said. “At first, we thought we had time since the fire was four or five miles away. But they said it was moving fast and had already burned some houses.”
Geistweidt and his family scrambled to protect what they could, moving farm equipment out into open fields and cattle to safer pastures.
Once they evacuated, the fire turned direction and didn’t damage the home or property. Geistweidt and his family went back to his wife’s grandmother’s home to check on it before having to evacuate a second time.
“We were told the fire had changed direction and was coming our way again and that we needed to load up and get out again,” Geistweidt said. “Rather than moving things up around there, we went ahead and loaded tractors and equipment on trailers and hauled them back into Fredericksburg to get them away from there.”
The fire changed course again and their land was spared, but the emotional toll of watching the fire inch closer was overwhelming.
“The most difficult part was standing on higher ground and seeing the flames in certain pastures,” he said. “We saw plumes of dark smoke and just had a horrible feeling, asking ourselves, ‘Was that a barn? Was that someone’s home?’”
Despite the destruction, the community’s response has been unwavering.
“Our community comes together so well in response and aid to each other, whether it be those affected or those that were trying to work on the fire itself,” Olfers said.
Rebuilding won’t happen overnight, but there’s hope.
“It’s going to take a lot of patience and labor, rebuilding fences and barn,” Geistweidt said. “Unfortunately, many people have lost something. For these individuals, it’s going to be a huge expense to get back to where they were. It’s going to be a challenge.”
Donations
The Gillespie County Texas A&M AgriLife Extension has set up a livestock supply point at the Gillespie County Fairgrounds for donations to collect hay, feed and fencing supplies to assist in recovering efforts.
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