PLANO, Texas — Even if you live on Cleveland Drive in Plano, it is hard to believe it has been a year since a tragic house explosion.
Neighbors want to forget that it happened but sometimes reality hits them when they see the now vacant lot where the explosion occurred.
Some neighbors with damaged homes have yet to return for a number of reasons.
On Wednesday, the neighborhood attempted to do something that its been wanting to do for a while: rewrite the script of their neighborhood. They don't want their block, their community, to be defined by a tragedy.
"We are more than what happened on that July 19 day," said Laura Seiferd.
"It was really how we met all of our neighbors," said Nicole Craven.
Mike Maack tells WFAA the 2021 explosion is what forced people to come out of their homes and realize there was a community all along.
"We didn't know half our neighbors...which is sad to say," said Mike.
"It's the day that changed our community," said his wife Leigh Anne.
Neighbors held a block party on the one-year anniversary of the house explosion. They gathered in front of the Craven's home and grilled hot dogs, shared drinks, and mostly stayed in the shade in the triple-digit temperatures.
"We're leaving the past in the past," said Tyler Craven.
Fortunately, nobody died in the explosion that city officials believe was set off intentionally. At the time, officials said the explosion was likely caused by a gas leak, but the leak wasn't found. The explosion injured six people.
The investigation appears to be ongoing but almost all of the neighbors have seemingly moved on from that.
"Every neighborhood needs to be more neighborly," said neighbor James Pratt.
Slowly but surely people are slowly building back their homes from tragedy while also building back their community.
Maack says it was about turning a negative into a positive. While he doesn't like what he sees right out of his window of the vacant lot he does like what his block has turned into ever since.
"We know their kids’ names and what they're doing," said Leigh Anne about her neighbors.
Wednesday's block party is not about what happened but what blossomed after.
"We want to reframe how we look at this neighborhood," said Seiferd.