LOVELAND, COLO. -- As the Boulder fire winds down, a new wildfire in Loveland continues to burn. It has already destroyed 800 acres, 200 structures and two homes. The Red Cross has set up a shelter at a Loveland church, and about 100 people have already been by. Resources from the Boulder fire have now shifted north.
"In fact, if it hadn't been for the Boulder fire, this could very well be a much bigger disaster," Steven Olson of the Red Cross said. "All the resources were mobilized, that situation is winding down, and we were able to mobilize those resources here and combine them with local resources as soon as this fire broke."
There's plenty of food, supplies and volunteers at the shelter, and they've been working around the clock to make it a safe, comfortable place to be.
"We're getting a tremendous amount of support from chapters all over the state," Olson said.
But uncertainty hangs in the air.
"It's very subdued, people are concerned, " Olson said. "There hasn't been a tremendous amount of information."
And that's been frustrating to evacuees like Kathe Proctor. On Sunday, her and her husband were forced to leave the home that they built by hand.
"The Sheriff's office came up and told us we had five minutes to get out, and that's it," Proctor said.
They grabbed what they could.
"What I grabbed was my clothes, this is my only pair of clothes and my only pair of socks, I don't have anything else," Proctor's daughter Tasha said. "And we had to leave my kittens."
They were able to grab their other animals, a computer and several vehicles, but they left a lot behind.
"We didn't even have time to take any pictures," Proctor said. "And we have a truck that was just restored, and a Corvette, we took those, so I had to leave my Expedition behind."
She's been keeping an eye on the video feed for any sign of her home.
"We're still waiting to see, they've told us our house was not burned, " Proctor said. "But we just watched the video, and we saw the neighbors' house, but we don't see ours at all, so we're wondering what's up."
She said they've had a couple of fires in the area, but never that close. She said this one, which started with a resident burning debris, started out small.
"It was just a little bitty grass fire, we saw the fire department come up and thought they were just going to hit it and that would be it," Proctor said. "The next thing you know it's hitting trees, it's coming up the top of the hill, then they showed up, told us to go and we started loading up the trailer."
She said it took her and her husband nine months to build the home ten years ago.
Officials said they have the fire about 30 percent contained and are cautiously optimistic, but they're keeping a close eye on the winds and the weather as they continue to battle the flames.
The Red Cross shelter will be open as long as there is a need.
Red Cross officials are asking anyone that's been affected to visit safeandwell.org. It's a website designed to give information to friends and loved ones during times of crisis.
TV Station Profiles & Public Inspection Files forKXRM