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Shows me what used to be his restaurant, it s on the pain is still fresh. an open kitchen where everybody could see what was going on. reporter: killer seafood is gone. hal summers was general manager. he s lost his job and his home. both men could have wallowed in self-pity and left town. instead, they ve decided to help the only way they could they cooked. in a church parking lot amidst the roar of generators and the smoke of the grill, they began feeding first responders an residents three times a day. chicken, tomatoes. reporter: seven days a week. for free. they call it camp happy times. fueled by donations, it provides one of the greatest comforts in dark times a hot meal. this is my planning menu. and this is the way i reporter: this is your menu ....
To be distributed around town for thanksgiving. is there reason to be thankful in mexico beach? definitely. absolutely. reporter: even with all the destruction and all that s been lost. even. even. we re still here. we have our lives. and we can rebuild and it s just going to take time. reporter: a month after the hurricane, people here have stopped looking for reasons to be sad. instead, they re finding reasons to rejoice. look at that. there you go. reporter: to be grateful. it s a beautiful place. and i will come back. and it s still paradise. reporter: instead of looking back, they re looking forward. in mexico beach, they ve come to learn that every day is thanksgiving day. thank y all so much. you re very welcome. reporter: martin savidge, cnn, mexico beach, florida. and we re thankful you could ....
Right here. parchment paper? parchment paper. reporter: over the weeks, this tent has come to mean much more than a meal. it s a safe place to cry, a safe place to let your feelings out. everybody has a feeling that they re all together and we re all in this together. reporter: at these tables, they have prayed, mourned the dead, even held a wedding reception. hal and michael baked the wedding cake. this is a place where folks temporarily escape what lies just outside. crews are making progress cleaning up and power, sewage, and water are all making a comeback. but there is still one staggering figure at least 75% of the homes in mexico beach have been destroyed. camp happy times is closing most of the first responders being gone, and food in mexico beach is easier to find. but before then, michael and hal will help prepare one last meal ....
reporter: david little and rick silva are not only covering this area s biggest story but they re trying to record the historic destruction for a community that s no longer there. for safety reasons, most of the residents of paradise haven t had a chance to see what s left of their homes. there s nothing else. and i don t think they know how little is left until they get up there. it seems like a complete removal of the town. reporter: rain has helped firefighters get more control of the fire, now some 95% contained. the historic fire has destroyed nearly 14,000 homes, and now the dice pos paradise post may be one of the few things that pind s ths community. we all know years from now people will look back at these print editions as sort of a history book for what happened during the fire. it s the voice of the community, has been since 1947. we have to continue that. ....
Covering the aftermath of this historic fire. reporter: as you can imagine, covering stories like this is very difficult. when we meet people and talk about the tremendous loss they have, it obviously touches us as well. can you imagine covering a story where you ve lived in this community for years, the worst fire in this state s history? don t think about this as just a building. this is people s livelihoods we re talking about. this paper is putting that to print because they basically understand they are what s holding this community together at this point. so this is the pressroom. reporter: at the enterprise record in chico, california, this is not the typical rush to meet the newspaper s deadline. you guys are still sort of trying to press forward to make sure the paper is out there. why? it s like the one small contribution we could make to make things normal for the community, you know? the paper still lives. it s kind of a symbolic, important message to send to the co ....