.
A Bastrop County, Texas couple were relieved to find their home still standing and their cat still there and in good shape after a wildfire swept through their town.
Some Smithville residents lost everything in the fire, but Scott and Kathy Anderson found that their house was one of only few still standing on their street when they returned on Friday after having to flee the fire along with their neighbors.
The Andersons returned to the neighborhood to look for their cat accompanied by a deputy from the Bastrop County Sheriff’s Office, who acted as an escort. They described the experience to KXAN News.
“It was just devastating, the couple mile drive to our street,” said Scott. “We still weren’t sure until we pulled up, and [the home] was still standing.”
“As soon as we got out of the car, [Dupree the cat] came running from under the deck,” said Scott. “That was really why we were going there, was to get him.”
“I don’t know if we’ve really felt anything like that before. It was very much a sense of relief I guess, with sadness at the same time. I mean, we both broke down in happy and sad tears in that moment.”
“The hardest thing is going to be the devastation you see when you go through there and the constant of knowing that everyone that surrounded you wasn’t so fortunate.”
Dupree was covered in ash but otherwise unharmed. He had gone three days without food and water.
The Bastrop County Sheriff’s Office shared Dupree’s pic to social media and noted that he was the lone resident at the Smithville Rec Center Friday night.
Watch the KXAN News report on the story:
.
.
Dupree was the single resident at the Smithville Rec Ctr last night after being rescued from the #HiddenPinesFire pic.twitter.com/1823NFvjG8
— Bastrop County SO (@BastropCountySO) October 17, 2015
