Emergency personnel dig throughout the fallen logs for the bonfire at Texas A&M in College Station that killed 12 students. Shortly before 3 a.m., the log pile shifted as dozens of students worked all night atop stacks of wood on the A&M polo fields. The top logs crashed to the ground.
RON J. JENKINS
Star-Telegram
Twenty-five years ago — on Nov. 18, 1999 — the 40-foot tower of logs being built at Texas A&M University in College Station collapsed, killing 12 people and injuring at least 27 others.
The victims included Jerry Don Self, a 20-year-old Arlington native and graduate of Lamar High School who was an A&M cadet, and Chad Powell of Keller, a 19-year-old who was Keller High School’s valedictorian earlier that year.
Chad Powell, left, and Jerry Don Self, 20, died in the Texas A&M bonfire structure collapse on Nov. 18, 1999. Contributed
“It was unmistakable. You could hear the creaking, snapping sound and then the screams,” Ethan McDaniel, a freshman, told the Star-Telegram hours after the collapse. “There were screams everywhere.”
The bonfire the night before A&M games against the University of Texas was one of the most hallowed of the school’s annual traditions. The tragedy was devastating for the Aggies community and was covered by media across the world, including the Star-Telegram.
Here are some of the photos taken by Star-Telegram photographers in the hours and days after the disaster.
The Fort Worth Star-Telegram’s front page on Nov. 19, 1999, the day after the Texas A&M bonfire collapse, which eventually claimed 12 victims. Star-Telegram
The collapsed bonfire at Texas A&M in College Station that killed 12 on Nov. 18, 1999. Alison Woodworth Star-Telegram
Emergency personnel dig throughout the fallen logs for the bonfire at Texas A&M in College Station that killed 12 students. Shortly before 3 a.m., the log pile shifted as dozens of students worked all night atop stacks of wood on the A&M polo fields. The top logs crashed to the ground. RON J. JENKINS Star-Telegram
Student volunteers carry logs from the fallen bonfire that collapsed at Texas A&M in College Station, killing 12, on Nov. 18, 1999. Ron J. Jenkins Star-Telegram
Emergency personnel work into the night to clear away debris from the collapsed log bonfire at Texas A&M in College Station on Nov. 18, 1999. Ron J. Jenkins Star-Telegram
Friends of Jerry Don Self, 20, of Arlington mourn in front of the fallen bonfire at Texas A&M in College Station. ALISON WOODWORTH Star-Telegram
A Star-Telegram graphic explaining how the Texas A&M bonfire structure collapsed on Nov. 18, 1999. Steve Wilson Star-Telegram
Students gathered at Rudder Fountain on the Texas A&M campus in memory of the students who were killed at the collapsed bonfire on Nov. 18, 1999. Alison Woodworth Star-Telegram
After removing logs from the fallen Texas A&M bonfire in College Station, student volunteers walk away from the scene. Twelve people died in the accident on Nov. 18, 1999. Ron J. Jenkins Star-Telegram
People gather to read a note on a makeshift memorial near the scene of the bonfire accident at Texas A&M on Nov. 18, 1999. Carolyn Bauman Star-Telegram
Bob Hanus Jr. of Utopia prays with Jonathan Gibson, a 19-year-old student, for the familes of the victims who were killed in the collapsed bonfire at Texas A&M. Hanus carries this cross with him ‘to remind people of hope.’ Alison Woodworth Star-Telegram
Students gathered to pay their respects at dusk on the scene where 12 students were killed at the bonfire accident at Texas A&M University in College Station on Nov. 18, 1999. Carolyn Bauman Star-Telegram
Mourners placed flowers, signs and memorabilia around the tragic scene where 12 students were killed in the collapsed bonfire at Texas A&M on Nov. 18, 1999. Carolyn Bauman Star-Telegram
Josh Elstein, a junior, pauses on Nov. 20, 1999, at a memorial for the fallen victims of the bonfire accident on the campus of Texas A&M University in College Station. Alison Woodworth Star-Telegram
A group of Texas A&M corpsmen are joined by an estimated 80,000 mourners on Nov. 25, 1999, at the site of the bonfire collapse on campus in College Station. Ralph Lauer Star-Telegram
Michael Bunch of Dallas traveled to College Station to attend the candlelight vigil on Nov. 25, 1999, at the bonfire collapse. Twelve Aggies died in the Nov. 18 disaster. Ralph Lauer Star-Telegram
Aggie freshman Dominic Braus of Hallettsville gets out of his wheelchair to lock arms with members of Parson’s Mounted Cavalry and their dates to sing the Aggie War Hymn at the Texas-Texas A&M game in College Station, on Friday, Nov. 26, 1999. Braus suffered injuries to his shoulder, lungs and toes in the collapse of the Aggie bonfire. Rodger Mallison STAR-TELEGRAM
The Texas A&M bonfire structure, 36 hours before collapse. Contributed
This story was originally published November 18, 2024 at 10:42 AM.
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Matt Leclercq is senior managing editor at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. He previously was an editor at USA Today in Washington, national news editor at Gatehouse Media in Austin, and executive editor of The Fayetteville (NC) Observer. He’s a New Orleans native.
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