Alexander Mountain Fire evacuees in Northern Colorado say they are trusting firefighters and God as blaze threatens their home
As the Alexander Mountain Fire west of Loveland grew by thousands of acres in less than 48 hours of burning, more than 3,000 different families have been displaced as the result of mandatory evacuations. CBS News Colorado's Dillon Thomas learned there are structures facing the threat of burning in the fire as of Tuesday evening, however there are not any confirmed structures lost as of 9 p.m.
Evacuees like Handel and Minjoo Smith said they were taking shelter at a local church after the flames came dangerously close to where they live.
Minjoo said she was driving home from grocery shopping when she first spotted the smoke on Monday morning.
"Soon I saw the fire was getting bigger, the cloud was getting darker. I was like, what do we do?" Minjoo said. "Soon the fire truck showed up and told us 'You are in a mandatory evacuation.'"
The couple said their home is located just east of the fire, which so far fire crews haven't been able to get any containment on. Making things worse, the fire was rapidly spreading to the east (as well as in other directions) on Tuesday.
"Living in the country, you usually have to expect something like this is going to happen," Handel said.
The Smiths said they are people of faith and were placing their trust in God in order to get them through this concerning time.
"We believe God is running this place, so we weren't really worried," Handel said. "It may sound strange from a world perspective, but we put our trust in God and said. 'Hey, this place is under God's care.'"
The Smiths said they were very grateful for Foundations Church and others who have stepped up to help shelter and feed them during the evacuations.
More than 3,000 families have been placed on mandatory evacuation with nearly 1,000 more under voluntary evacuation as of Tuesday evening.
Handel said he was also grateful for the first responders who have helped fight the flames and for the journalists who have helped share information with the community.
"We fully believe we will be going back home soon," Handel said. "We really appreciate the quick response."
"I am really praying not many homes are burned. Hopefully everybody will be able to go back home," Minjoo said.
