eastland complex wildfires

Granbury Community Shows Overwhelming Support During Wildfire Evacuations

United Way and American Red Cross, and Mission Granbury lead support efforts for those impacted by wildfires

NBCUniversal, Inc.

It's been an uneasy 24 hours for those under evacuation orders in Hood, Erath, and Eastland counties.

Several shelters were still open on Monday across Granbury, where a community effort continues to support people affected by the fires.

Once the fires raged over the weekend, about six locations across Granbury answered the call and opened up as emergency shelters for those evacuating their homes, including:

  • 1st Christian Church at 2109 West Highway 377, Granbury
  • First United Methodist Church at 301 Loop 567, Granbury
  • YMCA at 1475 James Road, Granbury
  • The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints at 1226 Ross Lane, Granbury
  • Camp Crucis at 2875 Camp Crucis Road, Granbury
  • Somervell Expo in Glen Rose has open camping stations

The local Hood County chapters of the United Way and American Red Cross, as well as Mission Granbury, have helped spearhead the effort.

On Sunday, deputies with the Hood County Sheriff's Department went door-to-door in the town of Lipan asking residents to leave.

As soon as that happened, co-senior pastor Steve Moss of Granbury First United Methodist Church said donations and volunteers started pouring into the shelters.

“Members of the church community and members of the community started showing up right away. We did not even have to put an email out to the church community because the Hood County Emergency Management system said our church was open as a shelter and people started showing up,” he said. “We had water, food and cots brought up. We were ready not knowing what they need would be.”

Moss said not a lot of families sought emergency shelter overnight on Sunday. His church did place three families in hotels and a local house that was offered up by a nearby neighbor. By Monday morning during the rainfall, some were even cleared to go home.

“I do believe God hears prayers and I know people have been praying for rain,” said Moss.

But he said the threat isn’t over.

Hood County Emergency Management said because fire crews are still working on containment they need the shelters to hang tight for a little longer in case anyone else needs to be evacuated and needs a place to stay.

"They are still trying to do some containment on fires so he has told us to standby and stand ready so that's what we're doing. If we get a phone call, we'll be able to open immediately and if we don't – it is our hope and prayer that the need is not there. But we're here and ready if they say so,” he said.

Because the shelters have extra supplies, some items like water are being sent out to the fire departments as they need it.

In fact, the Granbury Fire Department has requested snacks for its firefighters, which Moss’ church plans to deliver on Monday.

“My wife and I have only been pastors here since July but we have found in these eight months in this community that when there’s I need, they really respond,” said Moss. “We’re here to help love people and help them in a time of need.”

Other shelters like the YMCA said they are also preparing for what's next – adding that even if the rain helps with the fires, it doesn't mean the threat won't come back days or weeks from now.

Contact Us