By Erika Pedroza | Published Sunday, November 30, 2008
On Jan. 29, 2008, fires blazed along County Road 3390 and Texas 114 in Paradise, burning more than 600 acres and destroying seven homes, including the home of Doug and Sandra Wright. Recently retired, with little insurance money and only remnants of possessions found amidst the ashes, the couple was forced to start life over at 65 years old.
"We lost everything, literally," Doug said. "There was nothing but ashes. This took us back to where we started 40 years ago."
Neither was home when the fire started - Doug was at a meeting, and Sandra was running errands in Decatur.
"When she came back, she couldn't get in," Doug said.
Their home had escaped the fire's first blaze through, but the backdraft caught and destroyed it.
After 22 years in the home, the two had collected many keepsake items, including antiques and dolls that Sandra had made.
"We lost heirlooms/mementos - a rolling pin, quilt box, my dad's hat, belt and boots, paints, woodwork, my wedding dress, quilts - things that could never be replaced," Sandra said. "I lost my things to be a seamstress - $40,000 to $50,000 in fabrics and machines. I don't have any antiques and things like that really tug at my heart."
With little more than the clothes on their back, the couple clung on to what they had, struggling to keep themselves intact.
"It's kind of hard to put in words," Sandra said. "It's like you don't have a sense of belonging - you don't have any roots; you don't have any place you can call your home."
Constant support from family, friends and even strangers, helped the Wrights get back on their feet and move forward.
With the help of Nehemiah's Vision, a non-profit organization that assists in the rebuilding and repair efforts following natural disasters, and after nine months of painstaking labor and living in travel trailers, the couple finally have a place to call their own.
A WAKE-UP CALL
The fire was reported around 10:30 a.m. on the shoulder of Texas 114 near the intersection of Loop 444 and Texas 114. The Paradise Volunteer Fire Department responded initially, then received aid from various neighboring departments as the fire spread along County Road 3390 and Texas 114.
Fire Marshal Paul Cunningham said that a cigarette thrown from a vehicle window started the fire. Winds gusting at 40 to 50 mph and dry foliage fueled the flames.
Firefighters battled the blaze into the early afternoon, then were able to gain control as the fire approached the Trinity River.
Early estimates cited 625 acres burned.
The couple spent several days after the fire sifting through the ashes in search of any possessions. Although they were disheartened by the little hey recovered, the two didn't lose faith.
"It's like a wake-up call," Doug said. "People get so comfortable with the material things. We had a lot of stuff we were saving for our grandkids. Maybe this was God's way of saying 'you don't need this; teach them something else.'"
Those for whom the Wrights had saved their "stuff," served as their inspiration as well.
"There is no reason to just stop and lay down," Doug said. "Sometimes I feel like it. Sometimes I feel like I just want to throw my hands up, that there's no sense in trying anymore, but there is. I see three of them (grandchildren) every day when they get off the bus."
While the couple wasn't home when the fire started, their daughter, who lives on the same property, was. Unable to get to her, the couple feared for her well-being until she was reported safe.
"It makes you realize monetary things aren't important, it's your life that's important. And be thankful that you have that," Sandra said. "I didn't know if my oldest daughter was alive or dead because she was at home in the fire. That makes you stop and think. When you're so close to maybe losing somebody, your family member, it puts a different aspect on it."
STARTING OVER
Having lost their home, the Wrights used the setback as an opportunity to build Sandra's dream home.
"We wanted to feel more permanent," Doug said. "We felt temporary in a trailer. We wanted something more solid to finish growing old in."
Beginning the weekend after the fire, Sandra's oldest brother, Johnny Speights of Roanoke, who works in construction, led efforts to begin the rebuilding process for the Wrights.
"He came and moved everything, hauled away the metal and did the foundation so that the pad could be built," Sandra said. "A lot of friends came and helped. Without the generosity of people, we wouldn't have gotten as far as we did."
The Wrights received enough money from the insurance company and through donations to build a pad, buy a frame and install plumbing and an air-conditioning unit.
"The first big step we made was to talk to a contractor for a pad within four days of the fire," Sandra said. "We knew we had work to do."
In rebuilding their home, the Wrights chose to use a pre-fabricated package, using metal panel frames for the outside walls.
"With this kind of building, you can move walls because you don't have that barrier wall," Sandra said. "Plus, it won't burn as fast, it's cheaper and it's easier to put up because it comes in panels."
For nine months, the couple's lives revolved around the building of the home. As long as weather permitted, the couple worked on the house - welding parts of the frame, installing insulation, hanging sheetrock, staining the concrete floors, constructing plywood walls, running electrical wires and painting. When weather didn't permit, the couple would run errands, pertaining to the house like buying supplies or filling out paperwork for the insurance company.
"Every day is different," Sandra said. "There's no sitting around and watching TV. There's work to be done. I'll know I'm finished when I have my bed in my house." Day after day, the couple worked diligently to finish the task at hand.
"I don't know how to explain," Sandra said. "We would get up at 6 a.m. to get drinks and snacks ready for all our helpers. By 7:30, we almost always had someone here ready to work. And we'd do continuous work until about 10 some nights. On Sundays we'd go to the early service, come home, put our work clothes on and get back to work. And we lived that way for nine months."
Working so hard for so long almost made the vision of completing their home unattainable.
"At times it didn't seem like anything was changing," Doug said. "You just have to wait. But I'm not a very good waiter; I feel useless. But with each little bit we did, you could see we were getting closer and closer, sometimes it didn't seem like we were going to make it. The old body and bones were just about wore out.
"One of the most important things is don't give up hope. Always keep your hope and always have faith. It may not seem like anything is going to happen, but if you have faith, it will. It'll come around. It might not come around precisely when you need it or want it to, but just be patient," he said.
Constant support and faith helped the Wrights stay focused on their goal.
"We used a lot of prayers to get through day by day," Sandra said. "And then just the generosity of people - it puts faith back into your heart. There are still people in this world that are kind and don't expect anything in return. There's people we don't even know who gave to us out of their hearts just because they overheard someone asking us about our situation. You don't refuse anything; you don't say no to anybody. Like my father told me, you don't refuse somebody their blessing."
Because of all the blessings they've received, the Wrights were able to spend their first night in their new home at the end of October.
"I'd like to more or less go and repay what's given to me and give to somebody else. I know how it feels to lose everything and I can understand," Sandra said. "I'm anxious to finish up here. Not so I can have my home but so we can go help someone else. We can sympathize with them. We can relate to them. We know exactly how it feels. You have to go through something by losing everything to realize what you had that you really didn't need. It gets you very humble."
The home is not complete and there is much work left to be done to finish the home. The Wrights want to brick the outside of the home, tile the bathroom floors, finish painting the trim and build a wellhouse.
But Sandra's bed is inside her home, and the couple is ready to start over. Again.
