WANSHIP — While wildfire hot spots remained and more than 100 families were still evacuated in the Rockport Fire Saturday, a community rallied together and wedding bells tolled.

The Rockport Fire has burned 3 square miles, destroyed eight homes and evacuated 110 more since lightning sparked it Tuesday. As crews reach 58 percent containment of the blaze, the small town of Wanship has banded together to meet the needs of its residents who lost their homes.

The fundraiser was held at Rafter-B Gas Station, the gas and convenience store on state Route 32 right off I-80, known for its home-cooked food. It has become a meeting point for many since the fire started. One of Rafter-B's employees was one of the eight homeowners who lost everything.

"Even if we didn't know them, it would still be personal just because it's in our community and we all gather together as a community," said Kim Alderman, who helped organize Saturday's fundraising event. "It's been a crazy week, but we're getting to the end of it, and I think everyone is doing OK."

Donations to the families were being dropped off by the pickup truck full Saturday.

"It just goes to show the people here are amazing," said Frankie Donaldson, another one of the organizers. "They're going to need a lot of help. They have absolutely nothing. We've had fires here before, but never to this devastation."

Tawni Sprouse was supposed to get married at her parent's home Saturday in Rockport Estates overlooking Rockport Reservoir, but the area remained evacuated. Wearing the dress she retrieved from the house during the evacuations — with a simple teal sash across her waist and matching cowboy boots — she and her fiancé Travis Mann prepared to marry elsewhere.

"When my mom fled the house with my little girl, she thought the house was going to burn down," Sprouse said.

"At that moment, we thought everything was just over. So it's been a blessing to be able to rescue the dress, and the boots and the girls' clothes and to be able to still have the wedding and not to have it postponed."

Sprouse said she was grateful they were able to move the wedding location but keep the date so her daughter could start school and get back into a regular structure.

"It was supposed to be a this grandiose thing at the house, unfortunately with the fire situation, that wasn't an option, so we're taking plan B, taking it as it comes and being optimistic," Mann said. "We feel bad that on such a great day for us, it's terrible for others."

The couple, however, had to overcome both fire and rain before officially tying the knot.

Related:

Rockport Fire 58% contained; 110 homes evacuated

Firefighters across the state kept their eyes both on the landscape and the weather Saturday.

Then they were going to be married in the campground at Rockport Reservoir. An hour before the wedding, the happy couple continued to look on the bright side.

"Out of the ashes comes the Phoenix, I guess, and we're going to just keep it going and make the most of it," Mann said as it started to rain. "Given the situation, to us, rain is a great thing.

But the couple got more of the elements than they anticipated just an hour later, as heavy rain and wind made it impossible to be married outdoors. Plus, wedding guests were delayed by the Black Hawk helicopters fighting the fire.

"As long as we have each other and everyone is safe," Mann said. "The elements just are as they are. And that's nature and it goes on, and we're going to make the most of it, and it's going to be amazing."

The wedding was moved for a second time, this time to the Old Church, a 100-plus-year-old structure at the base of the Rockport Dam. This time, the marriage was completed.

The loss of homes and the extensive evacuations has brought this community closer than they thought they already were.

"Don't let it all be for nothing. Keep the connections and the friendships going," Rockport resident Sherri Berntsen said.

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