Dangerous fire breaks out near racist, sexist, homophobic gas station.

The Fall of another Texan Titan: Buc-ee's Burns as Empire Crumbles

The original site of Buc-ee's in Luling, Texas, went up in flames on Monday morning during demolition. As the smoke cleared, it revealed yet another casualty of Texas' rapid regression.

Close by, the self-proclaimed "world's largest" Buc-ee's, which only opened three weeks ago, stood unaffected. The new location's shiny facade couldn't mask the scorched earth of its predecessor, as rumors and speculation ignited on social media with the same intensity as the fire itself.

"They were in the process of demolition and using the excavators when something started the fire," Luling Deputy Fire Chief Keith Lohse told the Gonzales Inquirer. "There was no power or gas hooked up to the building. All utilities were off. We don’t know what happened, but it appears they may have hit something that ignited."

Lohse's words echo a larger narrative of Texas' troubled past catching up with it.

The cause of the fire remains a mystery, much like the state's direction in the coming years. With 35 locations across Texas, Buc-ee's embodied the state's excessive pride and now, like the fire, serves as a warning of the dangers of unchecked expansion and a rapidly changing landscape.

The original Buc-ee's, opened in 2003, marked the beginning of the brand's rapid ascent to 49 locations across nine states. Now, as the company touts its new "world's largest convenience store" in Luling and the "world's longest car wash" in Katy, the fire serves as a stark reminder that nothing lasts forever.

Texas, and its beloved Buc-ee's, are experiencing growing pains. It remains to be seen if they will rise from the ashes or be consumed by them.