MARBLE FALLS, Texas — A small piece of Marble Falls is gone after a fire ripped through a strip mall on Wednesday night.
The livelihoods of some business owners have been left in rubble, leaving them in a position where they are forced to pick up the pieces.
The flames destroyed a Taekwondo center, an afterschool program, a makeup store and an eyelash studio.
According to a GoFundMe fundraiser, Kelly Lee, who operates the Taekwondo Center and Marble Falls Best After School Program and Summer camp, has raised more than $13,000, already beyond her initial goal of $10,000.
The link says the money is going toward the staff payroll, while everything else will be invested in new equipment.
Another GoFundMe link was created by and for the owners of Beautiful & Blessed, while another link was created for another small business within the strip mall.
While these links are requesting help, community members have expressed that those who owned these businesses are not alone.
Cheryl Westerman owns the Ms Lollipop Parties, Fun & Gifts candy store on Main Street, which is just up the road from where the charred strip mall sits.
Westerman said as a business owner herself, she can only imagine the heartbreak her fellow business owners are experiencing and hopes to put together a fundraiser on their behalf.
"Marble Falls comes together when there is someone in need or businesses in need of anything," Westerman said.
Westerman recalled first seeing the smoke billowing Wednesday night and seeing and hearing the sirens before a crowd quickly formed as firefighters arrived and worked to contain the fierce flames.
"I was standing with a business owner who had a business in the building, and she was just like, 'That's our life,'" Westerman said.
The Highland Lake Crisis Network also posted on their Facebook page that they are also accepting donations for those affected by the First Street fire.
Investigators are still working to determine the cause of the fire.