Thursday, March 20th 2025, 5:39 pm
Since Friday, more than 400 homes have been burned across the state of Oklahoma, according to the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management.
As of Wednesday, Logan County officials say they have the fire under control but not extinguished.
How you can help Oklahomans affected by wildfires
Evacuation orders from the past week have also been lifted, and people can begin to go back and see what is left of their homes.
The people in the Luther area have been watching as fire crews fight the flames and wondering what’s left of their houses.
But one woman who used to call Luther home knows what these people are going through.
Suzy Stevenson lost everything she owned in 2012 as wildfires burned through Luther and destroyed the home she rented.
Inside the home when the fires started was one of her sons. Without the help of neighbors and other family members, she says he may have never escaped.
“I could have been an hour away from burying my son because of that situation. It was just so fast, it was so hot,” said Stevenson. “It just destroyed everything."
After the fire, she was left with only what she had brought with her on a Boy Scout trip to Michigan.
Stevenson says that people came by and handed her cash just so she could buy clothes or a meal for herself and her sons.
It was the community that helped her during and after the wildfires.
Suzy chalks it up to one thing: the Oklahoma Standard.
“We had neighbors that came over and poured water on our fire, and people we didn't even know poured water,” she said. “I've seen the stories. Like I said, that Oklahoma Standard is pretty amazing."
The help that the community gave her is what led her to show up to serve. She started a GoFundMe to help raise money for those who lost their homes.
“Paying it forward! I’m raising funds to help the victims of the Luther wildfires that happened on Friday, March 14. Families have lost their homes, and a couple have lost their livelihoods. In 2012, I suffered the same emergency and lost everything in a house fire. My community loved me, prayed for me, and raised me up to be able to start again,” wrote Suzy on the GoFundMe.
Suzy’s donation is to cover any of the fees that the website takes from organizing the fundraiser. She said she knows how quickly costs begin to pile up and wants to make sure the people who need this money get all of it.
"That immediate assistance is what I'm here to help with. And that immediate assistance is what helped me," she said. “This is a community that loves each other, and that's kinda cool."
Getting money to people quickly is why the link will only be active for two weeks, until March 30. Then the money can be delivered with the help of the city of Luther and other organizations that Stevenson will talk to.
If you’d like to donate, you can click on the link here.
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