The Smokehouse Creek Fire, which raged from late February to mid-March, devastated Canadian, Texas, becoming the largest wildfire in the state's history. Laurie Ezzell Brown, editor of The Canadian Record, described the unprecedented speed and destruction of the fire, which scorched over a million acres, caused two fatalities, and destroyed hundreds of structures, including 53 homes. A year after the event, local residents are still recovering, grappling with significant loss and the emotional toll of the disaster, indicating that full recovery may take years.
"Everyone I know lost something," Ezzell Brown told The Texas Newsroom, as she stood surrounded by the newspaper's archives at its office downtown.
The fire, she said, "had moved so quickly and done so much damage in so little time, it was shocking to see."
A year later, residents of Canadian and the surrounding ranchlands are still picking up the pieces of their lives. They say a full recovery could take years.
I started going out and seeing what had burned and then talking to the homeowners who were picking up, you know, whatever remained of their lives.
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