Ash was drifting across the range in Canadian, Texas, while Canadian FFA members were practicing for an upcoming range evaluation and management competition. Brandon Meier, Canadian FFA advisor and volunteer firefighter, knew it meant the wildfires were getting closer.
“I was in contact with other firefighters,” he says. “We knew if the wind picked up, the fire was going to fuel right back up.”
Meier was right. The wildfire, which ignited in February, charred 1,500 square miles of rangeland in the Texas Panhandle, including parts of Canadian — making it the largest in the state’s history.
Despite losing its school farm to the fires, Canadian FFA refused to give up. Read on to learn about how these members rose to the challenge thanks, in part, to donations they received from nearby chapters.
