Quarry Fire evacuees in Colorado making best out of bad situation as they await return to homes
Ms. Maggie May and Mr. Linus are the unofficial therapy dogs of the Quarry Fire evacuation center at Dakota Ridge High School. On Thursday afternoon, the two dogs hung out with their owner, Murphy Gulch resident Bruce West, under a shaded tree and greeted passersby, many of whom were still evacuated from their homes.
"People come up to them and [the dogs] just say ... 'Hi I'm Linus, do you want to pet me?'" Bruce said with a laugh.
He's lived on Murphy Gulch Road for around 30 years and has seen many close brushes with wildland fires. In the past, he's been evacuation standby notices but this was the first time he had experienced a mandatory evacuation order.
"[We got] a phone call saying make sure you drive up the canyon and not down the canyon and you're trying to get filled in as you go and we ended up here," he said.
The Quarry Fire has grown to 450 acres and zero percent containment in Jefferson County. The fire started on Tuesday night near the intersection of West Deer Creek Canyon Road and Grizzly Drive. Because of the need for water from aerial teams, Colorado Parks and Wildlife has closed Chatfield Reservoir to boating.
The neighborhoods in the evacuation area include Deer Creek Mesa, Sampson, Maxwell, McKinney, Murphy (mandatory evacuations), and Silver Ranch & Silver Ranch South (pre-evacuation orders only).
Luckily, the Red Cross evacuation center at the school has suited Bruce's – and other residents' – various needs.
"With the dogs, we don't feel like imposing [on friends and family], and [the Red Cross] treats you like royalty here," explained West. "It's like why go to a hotel when you can come here? They cater to us. I can't say enough good things about the Red Cross."
While multiple wildfires raged across the state, the Red Cross jumped into action. But even they found some challenges in the last 36 hours.
"We are stretched pretty thin because there are a number of shelters and fires in the north as well," said Kim Mailes, the spokesman for the Red Cross down in Jefferson County.
They had around 100 people a day with several dozen volunteers coming and going. The numbers aren't exact because of the amount of people that pop in for lunch or for supplies but Mailes told CBS Colorado they had about eight people sleeping in the center overnight. The job is equal parts providing supplies to those that had to evacuate but also helping them mentally and emotionally as they cope with the uncertainty of whether or not their house is gone.
"We train for this but no training will ever get you fully prepared for human emotion," he said. "We are people that care about people."
Bruce and the dogs wait it out just east of Murphy Gulch and hope that they are able to return to their home soon.
"For the most part I'm putting my faith in the firefighters and a higher power," he said.