One week after the horrific Marshal fire gutted her family’s home in Superior, Ann Dixon walked out of Boulder County’s Disaster Recovery Center with a grocery basket of cat food, socks, underwear and bottles of water.
“It’s amazing,” Dixon said while she waited for her husband Rick to pull up in their car so they could load their provisions. “You never think something like this will never happen to you, but here we are. Wow.”
Dixon said she saw a giant fire hose douse her home’s living room during a local television news segment last Friday. “I knew then the house was gone, nothing was going to save it,” Dixon said.
Her home was among 1,000 structures either wiped out or badly damaged during the wind-fueled Marshall blaze on Dec. 30 Dixon’s family had lived in the same Superior neighborhood since 2005 and now they are living in a motel in Boulder.
Until the Dixons’ home is rebuilt, they will be relying on help given by agencies and nonprofits now occupying the Disaster Recovery Center at 1755 South Public Road. As many as 40 groups began filling up Boulder County’s Southeast Community Hub to offer assistance to people who lost their homes in or were displaced by the Marshall fire.
As of Wednesday, the Recovery Center had served 700 families and doled out over $2 million in financial assistance to help Louisville and Superior residents recover from the fire, said Jim Williams, spokesman for the county’s Housing and Human Services.
“We have moved pretty quickly to get money to people who need it,” Williams said.
Financial assistance, housing, cleanup help and securing vital records are the top requests of fire victims who have come into the recovery center, Williams said.
“They are really looking for a way to get their lives back together,” he said.
The assistance center provides a variety of services including:
- Consultation on property loss and filing claims for assistance
- Financial assistance
- Information about short-and-long-term housing
- Help with vital records
- Referrals to emergency shelter
- Food assistance
- Mental health services
- COVID-19 tests
- Transportation vouchers
- Referrals for personal finance planning
Williams said fire victims can leave their contact information with a DAC volunteer so agencies can contact them later for additional resources and information.
Mental health counseling is especially important as many fire victims are dealing with a stunning life-altering change. “There is a lot of trauma in this community right now,” Williams said. “We want to help people out anyway we can.”
Boulder Area Rental Housing Association is offering housing resources for community members, Williams said. The association can be contacted at www.BARHAOnline.org/Marshall-Fire-Housing.
The Sister Carmen Community Center can help cover costs for hotels and provide rental assistance, Williams said. Residents can call 303-665-4342 or visit www.SisterCarmen.org.
Dixon said volunteers from the assistance center will go into their badly damaged home to help secure important belongings. She and her family will also be able to tap the center for food and other supplies.
“I can’t tell you how much that will help,” Dixon said. “It’s nice to know someone is around and ready to help.”
