Among the remains were a cherry wood writing desk, topped with leather and brought from South Africa; a white wedding dress, a line of laundry, and a blue-hued Christmas plate from England. Mostly, pieces of broken wood, charred from flames and gray with soot, littered the area where Rylander Elementary teacher Carol Kenny’s house once stood.
Kenny’s house was one of many in Columbus that was destroyed by a wildfire on the afternoon of Sept. 4, which burned about 1800 acres of land and destroyed over 40 buildings. The fire may have been caused by a downed power line, according to the Colorado County Citizen. Kenny and her sister, who live together, were both unharmed.
The two first noticed smoke that morning and evacuated to Katy as a precaution, though the fire seemed miles away from their property. By afternoon, however, the flames had spread to houses on their street.
“We turned around and drove back [from Katy to Columbus] because I had left the dogs alone, and we have two horses,” Kenny said. “We were about five or six miles east of Columbus and could see the smoke. The police were already there and the fire had burned one house back behind us and one house next to us, and it was moving pretty rapidly.”
Friends and family met Kenny and her sister with trailers to salvage what they could from their two-acre property before firefighters secured the area. After the barn caught on fire, strong blowing winds pushed the fire in the direction of the house.
“All that was left standing was the chimney,” Kenny said. “Basically the house was just a pile of ashes. But it was very interesting because it burned the entire house, but the picnic table was perfectly fine and sheets [were] still hanging on the line the next day.”
Although most of Kenny’s possessions were lost, she managed to save her nephew’s fiancée’s dress for their upcoming wedding in November. Still, many of the decorations for the wedding were destroyed in the fire, as well as family relics Kenny said she wished she had remembered to save.
“We took the things that we knew we couldn’t replace,” she said. “There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t cry about something. [When] my grandmother passed away she had filled out this book for me—and I wish would I have said, don’t forget that book. So there are little things that get me.”
Fires in Columbus have still been relatively small compared to those in Bastrop and Magnolia, where firefighters are severely understaffed and hundreds of homes have been destroyed. There are currently burn bans on 250 of 254 counties in Texas and blazes have already ravaged through thousands of acres across the state due to prolonged drought and strong winds, according to the Texas Forest Service.
“[Other areas in Houston] don’t have the resources now to fight every fire,” Kenny said. “Our fire by comparison was very small as opposed to Bastrop, where you’re looking at [hundreds] of homes.”
An alumnus of Katy High School, Kenny was born and raised in Katy for most of her life. She moved with her sister to Columbus ten years ago, preferring to live in an area with the “country town feel” Katy embodied in her childhood.
“I prefer to live where there’s just a little space around,” she said. “We wanted a little more space, a little more property. I’ve taught in Katy for 21 years. The commute has never been an issue and I never intended not to teach here.”
Kenny has taught in Katy ISD for 21 years and expressed her admiration for a community that has responded to her ordeal with extraordinary compassion.
“This is an amazing place to live,” Kenny said. “I can’t tell you how many people have come and said ‘come and stay with us, we have two rooms’ or ‘bring your dogs over, they can play in the yard’. I haven’t had to cook; food just shows up.”
Kenny, who teaches first grade, has likewise been “overwhelmed” been by the support shown by her students.
“I’ve had students bring their very own money,” Kenny said. “The cards that I get… I wait until I get home [to open them] and I cry because they are just so sweet. It’s so encouraging to know that the youth of today is so inspiring.”
Students have similarly made organized efforts to aid fire victims. Seniors Amy Chen and Rohit Rekhi organized a concert featuring local high school talent to benefit wildfire relief in August. The pair donated all proceeds to the Texas Wildfire Relief Fund, a non-profit organization that generates awareness for Texas volunteer firefighters and state wildfires.
“It’s truly tragic for such a catastrophe to be able to alter someone’s life in a manner of minutes,” Amy said. “The event earned more than 500 hundred dollars for the cause with the help of T-shirt sales.”
Kenny’s sister works for K-T Bolt Manufacturing, Incorporated, who is providing them with a temporary apartment. Although Kenny admitted that the few weeks since Labor Day Weekend have been hectic, she is “ready to start over” with a new home.
“We didn’t build that first house. It was someone else’s dream and this will be ours,” she said. “Instead of living with a wooded acreage, I’m going to plant wildflowers and have a meadow—if the deer don’t eat it all.”
Despite the tragedy, Kenny’s sense of faith has been renewed by the tremendous amount of support shown by the community.
“Home isn’t a place,” she said. “It was a tragedy, and I was really upset, but it’s just a place. It’s just stuff. At the end of the day, I’ve discovered a whole new side of people and the love and support has been overwhelming. I don’t live here for the heat—I live here for the people.”
