Colorado wildfires spark community support
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LYONS, Colo. — Almost 16,000 acres across the front range burned from wildfires over the past week, forcing thousands of people to evacuate their homes.
The Alexander Mountain fire, burning across 9,700 acres west of Loveland, remains at 74% containment and the Quarry fire southwest of Littleton is 45% contained. The Stone Mountain fire in Lyons was 100% contained by Tuesday, surrounded by a control line from firefighters.
Emily Bochenek was in Boulder when she got the notice from Boulder County that her home in Lyons was in the evacuation zone and she would have to collect her most important belongings ahead of the spreading fire.
“I was barreling back in from Boulder from running errands and I could see like the plumes of smoke just unfolding,” said Bochenek. “You never know what you're gonna go back to.”
Bochenek made it back to her house in Lyons to gather her things and flee in time to see the smoke coming down the mountain ridge in front of her home.
Back in 2020, when Colorado wildfires burned 665,454 acres across the state, Bochenek had to evacuate the school where she taught in Estes Park.
Because of her prior experience, Bochenek was already partially packed for the Stone Mountain fire when the evacuation order was given to her area July 31. She quickly grabbed a few other things and a sheriff escorted her off the mountain.
“I had started prepping my evacuation stuff because of the Alexander fire,” Bochenek said. “Had the Alexander fire not happened I wouldn't have had any of my stuff ready to go.”
Evacuees were encouraged to go to evacuation sites set up in Lyons and Loveland as well as contact family or friends who could house them.
Bochenek packed essentials such as identification and toiletries but, most crucial to her, important personal items including her grandparents’ photo album.
“Don't worry about the passport, the ID, the credit card,” Bochenek said of what to grab during an evacuation. “There are resources, people and things to help you figure that out.”
Bochenek says the things that people need the most after evacuating are food and shelter from evacuation sites and community members.
Last Monday, Bob Mitchell, CEO of Foundations Church in Loveland, received the call from the Red Cross that the church would be used as an evacuation site for the Alexander Mountain fires.
“Red Cross had approached us, years ago, about if we wanted to be an evacuation site in the case of an emergency,” said Mitchell. “This is the first time we've actually done this and it's worked out real well.”
Quickly, the church reorganized into an evacuation site, providing spaces for people to stay and get help. The church set up cots in the extra rooms while the Red Cross installed mobile trailer showers outside the church.
On the first night of the Alexander Mountain fire, 42 people slept at the church in offices and classrooms that were turned into private rooms. On the second night, July 30, only a dozen people remained after most of the evacuees found accommodations with family and friends.
Evacuees were also allowed to stay in the church parking lot, temporarily living in their campers.
Mitchell says that even though people found other arrangements as they evacuated, the church was still set up so that neighbors could take showers, eat hot meals and receive support from the community.
While shelter and resources are a top priority in the direct aftermath of a fire, Bochenek said it’s just as important to make time and space for people to let out their emotions and connect with others who’ve just gone through the same traumatic experience as them.
Bochenek, who works as a behavioral health interventionist for Thompson School District, believes in offering that support to help others heal from the trauma they experience in disasters.
“There are ways that each of us can show up in crisis and even after crisis,” said Bochenek. “Just surround yourself in [love] because we aren't meant to go through it alone and we can't go through it alone.”
All evacuations in Lyons were lifted by last Friday and Bochenek returned home. She plans on staying in town to support those who need it and immerse herself in nature to reconnect and heal.
The wildfires across the front range have damaged or destroyed more than 50 buildings and have killed one person since they first ignited July 29th.
“Even though this is a tragedy, it's good to see the goodness in fellow human beings and helping neighbors,” said Mitchell.
