SAN MARCOS, Texas — The Oak Grove Fire, which burned 365 acres last week in Hays County, has been 100% contained, but some residents are feeling the lasting effects.
Celia Oosterhuis is one of those residents. Her 5-acre property was destroyed.
“It's ravaged,” Oosterhuis said. "It's going to take, you know, 30, 40 years for it to be like what it was."
The night of the fire, Oosterhuis grabbed her two daughters, dog and cat and got out of the house just as the flames were getting close. But her husband stayed behind to make sure all their animals were out.
"My husband stayed back to get the horses and was running with them, as they would have probably been killed pretty quickly," Oosterhuis said.
While firefighters were putting out the fire, the Oosterhuises didn't know what they would be coming home to.
"There were a few hours where we thought for sure the house had burned down because the flames came past it and through it and, as you can see, burned the garage. And it burned our entire 5-acre property," Oosterhuis said.
PHOTOS: Oak Grove fire in San Marcos destroys family's property
Firefighters were able to save the family's house, but the flames destroyed their garage, horse barn and all necessary facilities that make their home livable.
"Every single thing burned that makes the home usable," Oosterhuis said. "We have absolutely no water service, electrical, septic. It's just a structure with no service now."
But the most important thing for Oosterhuis is that her family was safe from the fire.
“I can, like, roll over and look at my kid in the morning and kiss her, and I mean, so many people can't, you know?” Oosterhuis said. “The fact that everybody's alive, it's such a cliché, but that's all you care about.”
Oosterhuis said it will be about a year until they can fully move back in. She is a Hays CISD school teacher and she said this coming year will be her busiest trying to teach, be a mother and rebuild their property.
"Every minute I have free will probably be on the phone for construction," Oosterhuis said.
To help with the family’s repairs, one of Oosterhuis’ close friends started a GoFundMe last week. It has already almost doubled its goal.
"It's some emotion that I guess I've never experienced of extreme gratitude, but like, it's very humbling," Oosterhuis said.
Though her family has a tough road ahead of rebuilding, Oosterhuis keeps the same motto: "When the going gets tough, the tough get going."
The family has no plans of giving up on their home anytime soon.
"Hopefully, our kids are here 'til they graduate and we’ll come back to it," Oosterhuis said. "I can’t turn my back on this place. That's not even an option. You know, you can't abandon something. I'd rather rebuild it and make it better and bring life back to it just to honor it."