Snyder suffers from Anderson Creek fire

A fire that swept through parts of Kansas damaged land owned by business teacher Pat Snyder.

Snyder, who owns 1,000 acres acres in Barber County near Medicine Lodge, said 90 percent of her land was burnt. Her childhood home and around 75 percent of the fences that surrounded her land were destroyed.

“It’s just a house, but it is my house,” Snyder said as she held back tears.”There are memories, but it’s the smell of the house. It’s the creek of the door. It’s seeing it when you drive in.

“And now you see that there’s nothing there.”

The Anderson Creek wildfire started in Oklahoma two weeks ago and high winds blew it north into Kansas. The fire burned an estimated 397,420 acres of land.

Snyder said the grass will grow back over time, but the fences will require replacement before she can place any type of livestock on the land. Snyder has to replace three miles of fencing, which will cost about $21,000.

Although she has a financial loss, Snyder plans on making a donation to the firemen in the community.

“Even though I feel like we lost everything, a lot of people’s homes that they live in were saved because of them [the firemen],” Snyder said.