The destruction of the Waldo Canyon fire is hard to imagine. Spots where homes used to be, right next to stretches of green grass and untouched areas

The more people who speak about their experiences, the more stories of the same things are told over and over again.

People are not quite sure how to feel, especially those who live in the Mountain Shadows area. Some say they're happy that their homes were saved, but sad that others were lost.

Even the firefighters aren't quite sure where they stand.


It was a long ride in past the road blocks and into Mountain Shadows, where some of the worst destruction from the Waldo Canyon fire lies. There were a few homes that were saved, but, for the most part, this neighborhood has been destroyed.

Residents were able to return Sunday to view the damage. Some came back to nothing but rubble, while others were a little more lucky.

Firefighters spent more than 24 hours in the neighborhood Tuesday night trying desperately to save what they could.

"During the event we were feeling pretty dejected and i can't speak for everybody, but for me and my crew, we felt like we let our citizens down because we weren't able to save everything," Lt. JJ Halsey said.

"The efforts that must have gone in to saving this as well as many of my neighbor's houses had to be extravagant," Scott Hente said.

And it's the simple thank yous that keep these brave men and women out on the front lines.

"We saw the outpouring of support from just everybody, from cards to food to signs," Halsey said. "I mean, you name it, phone calls from across the country...it kind of it really started to lift us out of this, lift us up and lift us into a better place."

As we have all seen, the community support has been amazing. But we have to remember that the fire isn't out yet, so these firefighters are going to continue to need our support, as are those community members who are returning to complete devastation.