Wildfire Devastation, Cowboy Grit, & Donation Options

The people of the Oklahoma & Texas Panhandle & Southwest Kansas areas are amazingly resilient. They are tough and hardy people who will stand up and work hard after being knocked down and having everything torn from them.

How do we tell city dwellers how much these plains mean to us? I can seldom look out over these fields without a tear and a lump in my throat. Over every single hill lays a surprise. I've been here most of my life and I see something new every day. At the top of the highest hills I can see three states. At night, flying over in a plane, I can see the land twinkling with irrigation systems. The rhythmic drone of a pump-jack is one of the most comforting sounds to me. Watching newborn calves cock their tails and kick up their hills in the morning dew is delightful.

Woodward News staff writer Rachael Van Horn from Rosston, Oklahoma stated it best:

"Our area averages about 16 inches of rain per year. We are a target for tornadoes, ice storms, blizzards, lightning storms, dust storms, fire storms and even grasshopper swarms - and the final insult - earthquakes.

And yet, there is just something about it that makes us stay."

You can read the rest of her tear-jerking article here:
A beautifully tough place to live

No matter how bad it is, and believe me... It is really bad. We will endure. We will make it. We will rebuild. And we will be fine.  As a matter of a fact, we will be better than fine. We'll all be stronger for the experience. The character built through these trials makes these farmers, ranchers & cowboys the amazing people they are. This is the kind of grit that feeds the world and we're proud of it.

Our firefighters have worked tirelessly and the costs in fuel and needed truck repair is high. If you would like to help, monetary donations can be mailed to 

• Buffalo Volunteer Fire Department P.O. Box 439 Buffalo OK 73834
• Fort Supply Fire Department 501 Broadway Fort Supply, OK 73841 
• May Community Rural Fire Department PO Box 43 May OK 73851
• Rosston Fire Department 101 Beaver Street Rosston OK. 73855
• Laverne Fire Dept. PO Box 1222 Laverne, OK 73848
• Selman Fire Department PO Box 369 Buffalo, OK 73834

Procedes from T-shirt sales are being donated to victim families by:
   -   War Torn Apparel
​   -   Vintage Leopard
   -   Sanders Custom Silver

Also:
Donations listed on RFDTV
OK Stormchasers Wildfire Relief Item Donation Drive
Donation centers set up to collect hay, other items for ranchers affected by wildfires

And if you haven't seen the video of our children escaping the inferno yet, please watch and share:

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If you missed my other posts about the March 2017 Wildfires:

• Racing Through the Wildfire in the Panhandle of Oklahoma 
• Out of the Ashes comes HOPE  
• The God-forsaken Prairie Dust and Our Solid Cowboy Faith