One of the largest wildfires in Colorado’s history swept through the Pueblo and Aspen communities. The fires destroyed many homes, including ones that had housed families for generations.
Samaritan’s Purse is responding to this devastating event by helping homeowners find precious items among the rubble and clearing debris so each family can begin rebuilding their lives.
VIDEO SCRIPT
Gretchen Baker – Homeowner
We could smell some smoke, which is, you know, you’re in the mountains. You smell smoke. And then the alarm started going off. Pre-Evacuation. And within minutes it was mandatory evacuation.
Marilyn Mondragon Wren – Homeowner
When the news said that, a fire was up about 12 miles ahead of us. Above us. And in ten minutes it was on the street next to us.
Ken Montoya – Homeowner
My nephews, my friends come up here and started evacuating me right away. Hot ash was flying on as. It hit us so fast. I got pictures on my game camera. They took pictures of our house burning up. Pictures of the fire tornado that hit the front of the property.
Gretchen
I went out on the back deck and I decided that I was going to take a picture of the flames coming over the hill.
I was numb. I mean, you just you just kind of go numb. You don’t know what to think. Just saying. Please, Lord, check the house. Protect the house. But I kind of knew it wasn’t going to be here.
Ben Lehrer – Homeowner
So this is my house. My wife and I’s house. We’ve been here since 2013, and this is the remains of it.
Marilyn
So we had been here 36 years in October. We had raised our daughter here. This is what remains. And and, no amount of, video or, footage or photos could prepare us for the reality. The reality of just how violent and, what a beast this particular storm was. How insidious. There are hundreds of us that were displaced and homeless.
Josh Hanna – Samaritan’s Purse
Samaritan’s purse is on the ground in Pueblo, Colorado, where devastating wildfires have swept through the Aspen Acres and Beulah communities. This is the seventh largest fire in Colorado history, and a lot of people have lost their homes. They’ve lost their outbuildings. they’ve lost houses that they’ve had for generations.
Ben
So Samaritan’s Purse called and had said, hey, there’s 1230 work community there.
I let my wife now, and her immediate response was, wow, that’s fast. The readiness and willingness of the volunteers that that are with Samaritan’s Purse, it is beyond expectation.
Ken
I was born in 1955, in Pueblo, Colorado. I signed up in the U.S. Military Army as a delayed entry program. And this was our retirement home. God has blessed us to have Samaritan’s Purse here.
I mean, you guys make it so easy for us. And we are grateful and thanking our dear Lord for this. I would say it’s almost a miracle done by him for having you guys here with.
Gretchen
They’re amazing. I mean, we called and the next morning we’re getting a call back and saying we just got here. How can we help?
That was given to me by my grandmother when I was a little girl.
Marilyn
What are we going to do? And here come all these angels, and here we come. All these bulldozers and skid steers and. Wow. There is no word that’s been just that’s ever been created to describe what this feels like. You know, it’s it’s beyond. Beyond the sorrow, beyond the pain, beyond the anguish. God bless. God bless thm.
God bless him. Because there’s just no words. You know. Thank you. How inadequate, you know. Thank you. I mean, it’s just I really wish I had a better word, you know, just like, you know, I see hope, and I and I, I absolutely feel hope is rising out of these ashes.
People Interviewed and their Titles
Gretchen Baker – Homeowner
Marilyn Mondragon Wren – Homeowner
Ken Montoya – Homeowner
Ben Lehrer – Homeowner
Josh Hanna – Samaritan’s Purse
Recording Location
Pueblo, Colorado, USA
Organization featured in this Story
Samaritans Purse – www.samaritanspurse.org
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