DAYTON, WY — Tongue River High School (TRHS) held it's homecoming celebrations on Friday following the events of the Elk Fire.
“I saw a lot more concern here a week ago," said Daniel Claessen, a firefighter from Sheridan, Wyoming, "I see a lot more smiles on people’s faces now.”
Students and staff of TRHS said they were looking forward celebration and normalcy now that the threat of wildfire was lifted from the area.
“Homecoming comes with its own era of distractions, let alone when you’ve got helicopters flying overhead and active fire on the mountain," said Steve Hanson, the head football and track and field coach.
Students like Mckinlee Scammon, a senior volleyball player, said they spent the majority of their time concerned for their friends while the fire burned.
"We’ve been separated for, like, the last week and a half. So, just, like, seeing all of our friends and just, like, coming together as a school is gonna be really fun," said Scammon.
The school's homecoming included a football game, volleyball games, movies, and a parade which firefighters were invited to.
“I take a lot of pride in having the boys back around, out of this field," said Hanson, "and I missed ‘em while they were gone. I was worried about ‘em. I felt very helpless.”
Community members and firefighters noted that the success of fighting the fire would not have been possible without a mutual effort from each other.
“When we needed bulletin boards built for our public information effort, the high school students here locally actually stepped up and built the boards for us," said Claessen.
