For many victims of the Marshall fire, the story is the same. There was simply no time to evacuate and collect personal belongings resulting in everything being lost. Although Boulder County and the federal government stepped in to help, some in the community found assistance through local charities and businesses.
Isaac Hafner works at Copper Sky Distillery. On Dec. 31, he traveled from his home in the Sagamore neighborhood in Superior to report to what he thought was another day at work.
Little did he expect that just hours into his workday, his roommates would be calling to say everything they owned was lost to the blaze of the Marshall fire.
“I never even got the chance to try and make it back,” Hafner said. Only one of his roommates was home when the fire was spotted, what seemed to be miles from the house. Hafner said his roommate reported going upstairs to wrangle the pets and by time he was back on the first floor the fire was in the backyard.
All the pets and his roommate were able to get out safely, however, there was not time to grab any other belongings in the house.
Hafner said he felt a huge sense of loss, he said he didn’t feel he could take it personally. “So many people were impacted by this and it was like this weird, eerie, empty, airy feeling that lasted for a couple of days,” he said. “There wasn’t really any time to be too terribly grieving of it. I had to keep moving forward.”
Hafner is among the thousands displaced by the fire but little did he know people in Longmont were already organizing to look out for him.
Francisco Melendez has been a security guard to some pretty big names for many years. Despite his skills in protecting people, his heart is large and he can’t help but give back in times of need.
When Melendez began the Melendez Foundation and he started by helping children in his native home of Puerto Rico. In order to fund the foundation, Melendez began a whiskey club in which he collects and auctions rare barrels of whiskey for a good cause, he said. Often creating a special label for a bottle of whiskey unique to the fundraising mission of the day.
Melendez moved to Longmont shortly after the start of the pandemic and soon began making connections with locals. Having a love for whiskey, it did not take him long to discover Copper Sky Distillery and begin working with them to buy whiskey barrels for his club.
It also didn’t take long for him to learn that Hafner had lost everything in the fire. Immediately, Melendez and Copper Sky Distillery began raising funds to help Hafner “get on my feet as quick as possible,” Hafner said.
The Melendez Foundation and Copper Sky Distillery raised $6,000 for Hafner which allowed him to find a new apartment immediately. “I was able to get into a place and start rebuilding right away,” Hafner said. “It was a huge weight off my shoulders.”
Melendez was not finished though. Working with Colorado Bourbon Community, Colorado Spirits Collective, Colorado Gentleman’s Society and Triple J Armory, The Melendez Foundation participated in a community fundraising event to help others in the community. Through the event, held at Blackbelly in Boulder, the group was able to raise money to help two single mothers who lost everything in the fire.
One of the parents, who wished not to be named, lost her job just prior to the fires. Melendez is helping her find a job in addition to giving her $3,000 to tide her over until other funding came in, Melendez said.
“I have never seen so much charity in such a close way before that is has made me kind of a better person,” Hafner said. “I now know how powerful any act of kindness can be.”
“They are some of the most unique and truly caring people I’ve ever met. They are high-energy and are ready to go and get the work done but all they want to do is help people,” Hafner said.
“Together we can always come together and make a difference,” Melendez said.
