Nearly one year after the Welder Fire tore through Sinton, families like Barbara Funke’s are rebuilding and reflecting on resilience.
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — It has been nearly one year since the Welder Fire ripped through part of the community of Sinton.
For Barbara Funke, “Welder” isn’t just the name of the fire — like for many in Sinton, it’s personal.
“So a lot of them were in that room that got singed,” she said when showing 3NEWS her old yearbooks that were burned in the fire.
Funke taught at Welder Elementary during the early 2000s. She never thought the name would take on a different meaning — or that she would be one of the many families having to rebuild because of it.
“They came in a tore the house down and then cleared the lot. And then started getting the plans together and started building,” she said.
Michael Gillitzer lives nearby.
He said while he didn’t lose his home, driving through the neighborhood the next day — given the conditions — it was clear to see why the fire became so widespread so quickly.
“Just literally half the neighborhood was gone,” he said. “When I first heard about it I was kind of like this is the worst day to have a fire. Because I remember we were in the middle of the drought and it was high winds that day.”
For Funke, as she continues moving into her new house, she is reminded that while things can be replaced, calling Sinton home is still something to be proud of.
“How everybody was helping everybody and checking on everybody and trying to save what they could,” she said.