KUT News to host community forum for Wildfire documentary
It started as the perfect fall weekend: Breezy, sunny skies, cool temperatures.
It spawned one of the worst disasters in Central Texas history: More than two thousand homes destroyed, landmarks burned, whole habitats changed forever. The Labor Day Wildfires of 2011 took some lives, uprooted others and changed Central Texas history: from the way emergency responders plan for fires to building codes and water usage.
It also brought communities together like never before. These are some of the voices of the fires: A vast oral history project by KUT News to collect and document the fires that swept through Central Texas that tragic weekend of September 2011.
On Monday, Sept. 10, KUT will host a “Forged in Flames: An Oral History of the Labor Day Wildfires” community forum at 6 p.m. in Studio 1A at the KUT Public Media Studios at the northeast corner of Guadalupe and Dean Keeton.
Featured speakers will include KUT News Director Emily Donahue; Mose Buchele, of StateImpact Texas; and Erin Purdy, of the Briscoe Center for American History. Head out over to KUT on Monday and learn about the process for collecting and making those stories available to the community. This forum is free and open to the public. Get there early to ensure a seat.
Before the forum, be sure to listen to the full documentary and hear the oral histories of the Central Texans affected by the wildfires.
