VIDEO: May 17th, 2022, began like any other day — but the quiet town of Buffalo Gap had no idea a fire was about to ignite, burning for 12 relentless days and destroying 20 homes along the way. Long-time KTAB anchor Stacie Lopez spent years reporting the news and never imagined that one day she would be sharing it from the other side of the screen. While her husband, John Mark, a former Abilene police officer, prepared for another day of helping to keep the people of Abilene safe, neither of them could have anticipated the difficult battle they would face together while at home on the range. “I remember it. Like to this day, we packed up everything and loaded up the car, loaded up the kids, loaded up the animals, and ashes were just falling on our head,” Stacie said.
