Man that is sad! Ditto to all of the above. We have an Ace, and a True Value here, in town. The true value is small, but they have a decent inventory, and the ladies, that work the counter, are super helpful, and far superior in knowledge about the inventory, than most of the people in the big boxes. the manager, helped a guy on a Harley, that had lost a nut on a wire from the battery that connected to the switch. He went to the tool section, and came back out with an assortment of NEW wrenches, and told him to see if any of them fit, and one did, and he even gave him the nut that fit the bolt that the wire connected to. The guy on the bike was amazed at the generosity of this town. I didn't anything standard that would fit the nut , just metric, and a couple of 9 1/6, and 1/2 inch standard. And if the smaller store doesn't have something you need, they can order it. Ace is the same way, plus they have free hot pop corn, in the back.
Some things , I have to get from the big box but not from hd, When I need something I can't get here in town. When I am in the big towns, that is when I go there, but for the most part, I shop local, you know them by name, and they know you by name. The big boxes are like Jeff Foxworthy's Walter, get your s#$%, and get out! I do hope they have good insurance, and can, and do rebuild. Let us know when they find the cause and origin of the fire.
Wayne