POSSUM KINGDOM WESTSIDE VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT HAS THREE TRUCKS, AND TWO OF THEM ARE DOWN!

The PK West Volunteer Fire Department needs your help now!
Please email this plea to someone or someones who you think may be able and willing to help.  This is an ongoing need for all these selfless volunteers!

The West PK Complex fire has burned approximately 90,000 acres in the counties of Stephens, Young and Palo Pinto on the west side of Possum Kingdom Lake between PK and Graham, and the total burned acreage for the whole PK Complex fire was about 150,000 acres as of Wednesday night.  Approximately 160 homes had been burned to the ground at that point.

Fire threats are still high on the West Side. There is an unconfirmed report that they are staging equipment on John Burgess’s place on Hwy 1287 at this time due to the lack of rain and forecast of dry, high winds tomorrow. There is concern the fire may reverse course and blow back this way.

The PKWVFD (PK West Volunteer Fire Department) has two trucks and one water pump which are down.  We asked them what they needed most and the Fire Chief said “rain, money and equipment, in that order.”  We need to get them back up and running immediately. 

According to the Texas Forestry Service, for whom we sell, as of last night the fire in the PK area is only 25% contained.  There is still a great need for firefighters and equipment.  Area residents and generous people from around the state have donated food, water, supplies, sunscreen, lip balm, Aloe Vera gel and other items.  There seem to be plenty of these items available.  Volunteers from Graham and Young County have set up cots with food, water and supplies in the Young County Arena Complex for firefighters to get some rest and nourishment.

We, Marilyn Burgess, Sim Burgess, Ed Lanford, our families and our extended Lone Star family are pleading for your help for the PKWVFD.  Please send a check payable to PK West Volunteer Fire Department, HC74, Box 417, Graham, TX 76450, or if you prefer, to your local VFD.  The need is urgent.  Please help today.

On a personal note, Marilyn and I have witnessed truly heroic efforts by the newly formed “Bunger Volunteer Fire Department.” The BVFD was formed out of immediate necessity to save the tiny town of Bunger about nine miles north of Possum Kingdom Lake and six miles south of Graham.  Bunger has been the family home of Marilyn’s family for generations.  Bill, whom many of you knew as such an important member of Lone Star Auctioneers, and his wife Betty raised their four wonderful sons in Downtown Bunger where the family has ranched and worked since just after the Civil War.

The Bunger Volunteer Fire Department quite literally saved many of the homes along Bunger Road (Highway 1287) south of Graham through their quick action and very real bravery.  In the face of a raging, life-threatening wildfire which was whipped by high winds and was constantly changing direction, they fought the fire and protected homes and livestock in their immediate area.  Equipped with a bulldozer, a road grader, a small, old tanker truck, a bucket loader, a 1 Ton truck with a sprayer,  and a tractor and plow, they cleared fire breaks, plowed fields, and sprayed homes and outbuildings in the face of the oncoming firestorm.  They fought threatening fire beyond the point that other trained firefighters backed off.  It was their own homes they were protecting!

The brave members of the “Bunger Volunteer Fire Department” are Bear Truesdell, Layne Kramer, Jack Mahaney, Trampus Yoder, Sim Burgess, Will Burgess, Don Holman (a smokejumper cousin from Montana), John Burgess (who drove all night from Milwaukee,WI), Dana Burgess, Elizabeth Burgess (16 years), Ben Burgess (12 years), Betty Burgess, Clayton Truesdell, Quentin Truesdell, Callie “Maybelle” Truesdell, Paul Youngblood, Angie Truesdell, Eddie and Amy Williams, (all of whom come from generations of Bungerites) Molly the Fire Dog, and numerous other family members and friends who kept the rest station in the Bunger barn stocked with food, water and supplies for all firefighters.  Sim, Bear, Will, Layne, Don, Ben, Elizabeth, Clayton and Jack should be singled out for their particular bravery in the face of danger.

Special thanks also go out to the PK West Volunteer Fire Department, the Eliasville VFD, Young County VFD, Loving VFD, Denton County VFD and the entire network of VFDs from so many small towns, burgs and wide spots in the road from around Texas, truly “Firefighters Without Borders.”  There are so many to thank including Mount Pleasant VFD, Nacogdoches VFD, Log Cabin VFD, Cooksville VFD, Double Oak VFD, Sanger VFD, Trophy Club VFD, Ringgold VFD, and many others.  It is hard to remember them all now, we will try to post more later.

Many of the firefighters expressed their appreciation for the Bunger VFD’s insane humor during this time of crisis.  They said that as stressful, hectic and confused as the firefighting situation was, it was heartening to have the comic relief provided by the BVFD.  When the guys from Nacogdoches pulled into the Bunger yard with their second flat tire, Bear Truesdell said, “Hey, guys.  Around here we put air in all four tires.  We find it works better.”  This is a small sample of the humor and positive attitude the BVFD maintained throughout the ordeal.  All the firefighters wore T shirts of their particular VFD.  One group of firefighters from an organized VFD told the freshly organized and disorganized Bunger VFD they needed a T shirt.  They recommended the BVFD shirt should read, “Bunger Volunteer Fire Department-We’ve Upped Our Standards…Now Up Yours!”

Our deepest sympathies go out to the many neighbors, farmers, ranchers, and homeowners around the State of Texas who have lost their homes, irreplaceable keepsakes and mementos, barns, pets, livestock, equipment, vehicles and other valuables to these fires.  This is tough, and it’s not over.  Pray for rain, do your rain dance or whatever you do in times of trouble to seek help.  Good news is, there was a light sprinkle here on the West Side last night, and it is sprinkling now.

Please give NOW to the PK West Volunteer Fire Department and don’t forget to give to your local VFD or EMT unit as well.  These men and women lay their lives on the line for us on a frequent basis for no money and no glory.  They do it because they are truly heroes.

Thank you,
Marilyn K. Burgess and Ed Lanford (Cell 817.994.0998)