Evacuation From the Marshall Fire: A Personal Timeline
What it was really like to grab my pets, my passport, and flee from the most destructive wildfire in Colorado history as a Pompeiian scene descended on my hometown
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Author’s Note: I am one of the lucky ones.
I returned home not to a pile of smoldering ash, but to a home left standing.
This article is meant to explain what we all went through during evacuation, and my own personal aftermath up until this point — two weeks later.
While I understand that my story is not one of complete devastation, this event has forever changed my life and those of all of my neighbors. Some of us are home, and some of us are starting the healing process — but it is far from over.
To donate to help those who did lose their homes, pets, valuables, and memories during this fire, click here. If you’d like to know more specifically where your funds are going, there are links to personal gofundme’s below — all wonderful people in my neighborhood.
To donate to help Boulder Humane Society house and reunite lost pets with their owners, click here.
All earnings from this article, and all of my Medium articles in December and January will go to personal fundraisers for my friends and neighbors to rebuild.
I dedicate this article to all who were and are impacted by the Marshall fire, but even more specifically to Ellie, Nancy, Brenda, and Ezra. More than any monetary gift I can give, I hope you know that you are loved — and that you are not alone.
December 30, 2021
As I write that date, chills run up my arms. The hairs stand up, remembering how I woke up like any other day.
I made myself coffee, and even tried to make a homemade boba drink for the first time — a treat from a Christmas gift.
As a teacher, I was on Winter Break and had time to do a bit of extra self-care before starting my personal to-do items before the new year.
Although it started like any other day, it would end in horror I’ve only witnessed in the likes of Dante’s Peak or…
