‘Just sort of numi:’ evecuees irece for the worst

Mary Ann and Larry Beard have evacuated their Mountain Ridge neighborhood home five times.

And when Mary Ann, who goes by Dee Dee, got the call to evacuate Saturday, she thought it was for the Cameron Peak Fire burning west of Fort Collins. She didn’t know the Cal-wood Fire was burning less than 15 miles away from her home.

“I’ve learned to just have a duffle bag open in the closet to just throw clothes into it,” she said. “And that’s what happened.”

Dee Dee said she and Larry had just minutes to evacuate with their cat Elle. They’re now staying with a friend in north Boulder .

“I’m just sort of numb right now. Sort of in a fog,” she said. “I just drove out to (U.S.) 36 and Nelson Road, to just look up at the side of the mountain.”

She said her Mountain Ridge subdivision used to comprise 17 homes.

“And now there’s only one standing. There’s just foundations and smoke coming from everywhere. I don’t think it’s all hit me yet,” she said.

Dee Dee said Saturday morning she went for a run on Wonderland Lake and then went to Moe’s Broadway Bagel.

“We were home by 11:30 a.m. Thank goodness we were,” she said.

County resident Courtney Walsh tweeted photos of her home burned to the ground. She told the Denver Post she and her family were waiting for updates after they evacuated.

“Then we saw a picture from the National Weather Service, and it focused on our house burning, so then we knew,” Walsh told the Post.

Walsh said three of seven homes in her neighborhood were destroyed.

“There were baby books that I

didn’t grab, and I’m regretting it,” Walsh told the Post. “Those are the one thing I always thought, ‘I have to grab those if anything happens,’ and I just didn’t. I froze.”

Boulder County sheriff’s Division Chief Mike Wagner said in a news conference Sunday night 26 structures and homes have been damaged from the fire, 23 of which are deemed a total loss. There are 19 addresses on Mountain Ridge Drive. A full list of damage can be found at boulderoem.com. Wagner said the list will likely grow as investigations continue.

The fire was first reported at noon Saturday near the Cal-wood Education Center at 2282 County Road 87.

According to Cal-wood’s website, all staff were evacuated and safe.

“The Cal-wood buildings, including the lodge and cabins, are not damaged. Cal-wood is housing 30 firefighters at the cabins and lodge,” the website states.

As of Sunday night, the fire is at 8,788 acres in size and 15% contained.