OSU student who helped hurricane victims devastated by wildfires
STILLWATER, Okla. (KFOR) - A young Stillwater man, who took his fraternity brothers to help hurricane victims, now finds himself in a devastating situation after Friday's wildfires.
"My heart just kind of sank. It was like, 'All this work for nothing,'" said Corbin Lacy.
Lacy had an impressive lawn care operation in Stillwater, at just 20-years-old. He has a team of employees and had high-end commercial equipment, including trailers, commercial mowers, and a leaf loader.
"You have a big vacuum and you suck up the leaves," said Lacy.
The equipment was stored in a metal building. Lacy said it was all worth around $150,000.
"A lot of money invested into it," said Lacy.
However, the building was located just off Highway 51, where wildfires burned through Friday.
Lacy has a helping heart.
Last Fall, he and his Farmhouse fraternity brothers traveled to Butler, Tennessee after Hurricane Helene.
He had hoped to use his equipment to once again help around town, but his dad called Saturday with the bad news.
"He was like, 'You need to get here now.' And I was like, 'Where?' And he was like, 'At the shop. It's burned down.' I thought he was kidding," said Lacy.
It was definitely no joke.
To power his machines, Lacy houses a lot of flammable material in the shed. He needs them for his job. However, this combined with wildfires can spell disaster.
"There's a couple of mowers that got taken out," he said pointing to the damage. "The weed-eaters are just a straight rod, they look like a piece of rebar. Those were really good push mowers."
He has not been able to salvage anything.
Lacy does have insurance. While he's working through that long process, friends are helping him get by.
"It could've been a lot worse. There are people without their homes," said Lacy.
You can Venmo Lacy (corbin-lacy) or Paypal (@corbinlacy) with the memo "Fire donation." You can also drop off cash or check donations to Blush Beauty Bar & Boutique at 715 S Main St, Stillwater, OK 74074.