“What happened that day?”
Jump to:
Keller's Harrowing Tale
Sylvie's Perspective
Judy's Play-by-Play
Gina's Evacuation
Tucker's Experience
From Keller:
I’m not completely sure how to start this off. So let me give a little backstory on what was going to happen December 30th 2021. Tucker, my dad, had left the house early to go for a walk with my grandma. That day was going to be his day to “relax” after he had been working for the past few months and keeping his family together. He got the gift of a massage in Boulder for his birthday. He was supposed to go to the massage and then after that he would go to a salt-water-tank float spa.
Meanwhile, back at the house, me, Gina (my mom), and Sylvie (my sister), were about to head off to the rec center to exercise, get in a workout. We had nothing to do that day that involved mom's work, school, or hockey. Right before we all got in the car to go to the rec center, I stepped outside and smelled smoke. It was a beautiful day so I thought someone was cooking up a great meal. Man, was I wrong.
Sylvie was a little late to the car so Mom and I decided to go up on the hill in our backyard to check for smoke, and knowing it was a very windy day, she got slightly worried. We saw smoke just behind the highway. I immediately went to Google to search up “Fire in Boulder County today”. I saw there were 2 fires. The Middle Fork Fire, and the Marshall fire. We thought it was just a small grassfire that could never even cross the highway. Every time we said we would leave soon, we would push it back 15 minutes because we were wary about leaving the house when there is a field of dead grass in our backyard and there was a fire nearby. We decided to wait at home until noon for the TV news update.
Smoke began to show up more and more in the windows so we closed all the windows to keep the smoke out. I became really nervous and started to worry more and more. As smoke was getting really noticeable in our windows I heard mom yell to pack a bag of clothes and special things. At that point my emotional barrier broke. I started hyperventilating, I couldn’t do much because I was laying on my back on the floor because I was feeling like I would pass out. Then it got worse.
Sylvie came into my room to check on me, I couldn’t control myself, I was still hyperventilating, my eyes were wide open, and then I heard Sylvie say, “she’s still out there?” I couldn’t believe it. I yelled at Sylvie asking her why mom was out there in the worst air quality ever with ashes raining out of the sky. I ran downstairs and saw my mother barely able to stand up in the wind, taking a video of the scene. She came back saying she couldn’t see the flames. (When we looked at the video again later, it showed flames already in the field of dead grass when we were still home. We were completely oblivious to how close the fire really was. It was too close.)
This is my least favorite memory of my whole life. I despise it because it’s so vivid. And it constantly comes back into my mind, like it was happening today. All I could see out my window in my room was smoke, I could hear Mom and Sylvie talking downstairs very faintly. But mostly, I could only hear wind rushing through the air at very high speeds and the sound of fire truck sirens in the distance. I had tears running down my face and my bag was next to me with everything I could think of with my unclear mind that I needed for 3 days.
And then I heard Mom call me downstairs. I put my hand on my carpet, having a bad feeling that this would end up being the last time I would touch my carpet. I picked up my bag and clothes and ran downstairs and saw the television with Denver 7 News on, and it said in big white letters “LEAVE NOW”. The news reporter was less than half a mile from my house and he was telling everyone in Louisville and Superior to get out. The three of us gathered in a circle in our TV room and said goodbye to our house, hoping it wouldn’t be the last time we did so. We hopped in the car and pulled out of the driveway and waved goodbye to the house.
Mom and Sylvie didn’t see what I saw and felt at the time. Mom was staying calm and didn’t think the worst would happen, and Sylvie was being a great sister, following mom's lead. Before we left, I was laying on the carpet at the top of the stairs when Mom asked me what’s the worst that could happen. I looked her dead in the eye and said, “Our house could burn down.” I was having more trouble with it than Mom and Sylvie. I had it in the back of my mind that this could be it for my house. My house! The one I had lived in for 6 years, the one I had 8 years worth of hockey cards in, the one I had 13 years worth of life in, all the drawings, all the clothes, all the pictures, all burnt and destroyed.
We were lucky enough to be offered an immediate place to evacuate to, from my friend and hockey teammate, Dom, & his family, the Simmons. Later that night, we learned that our house, and everything we owned, was burned and demolished. We all sat down together at around midnight and welcomed the new year knowing that we had no home, just a pit of ash. We talked about things we would miss. It was, and still is, extremely surreal. It feels like a really long nightmare, but knowing it’s not, knowing I’m not gonna wake up in my bunk bed and everything is gonna be there, that’s the hard part. We stayed at a hotel the next 3 nights where we went through some very hard times. We rarely could sleep at night.
What Did I Grab?
The most important thing to me was my grandfather's ashes, my pop-pop, John E. Collins. I grabbed my phone, my charger, filled up 3 waters to the brim, computer, and computer charger. I grabbed 3 pairs of clothes for 3 days, mostly warm clothes. I threw on some shoes, a hat, and a jacket and that was all I had time for.
What Do I Miss The Most?
We had a lot of stuff that meant a lot to us, but if I had to choose one group of things that I personally miss the most, it would be all the pictures, framed or unframed. They were pictures of all the memories that are now lost. It hurts to think about the moment they burned, if I could see my face and my family’s face burning and the rest of the picture being burned. The orange flame moving slowly as it rips through all the pictures and memories of trips we had.
With love, Keller Wildwood Collins
Wanna help out my CollegeInvest Fund?
1. Go to Ugift529.com
2. Enter Keller's unique Ugift code: B7X-X1H
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4. Make your gift via electronic funds transfer or check
5. Thank you!!!
____
FROM SYLVIE:
The day was pretty normal for what I'm used to.
I remember my dad waking me up and telling me that I had to watch out through the dining room window for the recycling truck to come down the street. When the truck came, I was to run the recycling can out to be picked up. We couldn't just leave the recycling can out because of the wind. I remember going outside a few times to pick up our neighbors trash that morning. Windy days in Colorado are always happening, and it kinda sucks when the wind comes on our neighborhood trash day. Everyone in Colorado knows to watch out for those days.
When my mom was done with her virtual meetings in the basement, she came upstairs and got ready to go to the Rec Center with Keller and me. I decided to go with them, and because I wasn't ready right away, it took us just a little longer to get out of the house. I am glad I decided to go, because if they left, then I would have been alone as the fire came to our house, and would have no idea what to do.
I opened the garage door and smelled a little bit of smoke. I did not think much of it because people have backyard BBQ's all the time. So I shut the door and went to check if everyone was ready. While we were getting ready to go to the Rec Center, my dad was on his way to a massage.
When Keller opened the door and smelled smoke he alerted Mom. She told us that we would wait till the 12:00 news came on. At around 11:55 dad sent us a few pictures of the smoke when he was driving to Boulder. Seeing these, Keller automatically started to worry that the fire would reach our house. He could sense that this all might not end up well. Me and Mom tried to stay pretty chill. Set a good example. But when the news came on, the first thing they talked about was the fires. That was what scared me.
The fires were a little too close to our house to be comfortable. I was running all over the house looking out every window. Eventually, my Mom told us to start packing. That did not help at all for Keller. He was already hyperventilating as it was. So when I told him to start packing, he freaked out. It got worse and worse. He freaked out even more when my Mom went up to the top of the hill in the backyard to see all the smoke. She could barely hold herself up.
I remember I was texting my friend Jackson during the whole experience. So many people were offering us a place to evacuate to until we could go back or find shelter. My Mom was looking out from her bedroom window and saw the family of raccoons in the irrigation tunnel behind our house start to leave and run from the smoke, and she told me to get my shoes on.
We loaded all the bags into the back of our Subaru. To meet up with my Grandmom, we stopped at the Colorado Tech Center first. Then we went to my brother's teammate's house. He lived a few houses away from my friend Jackson, so I went over there and hung out for hours.
After the day of the fire, we left our friend's houses and went to a hotel for a few nights.
When I go back to the site, it feels comforting but horrible at the same time. It is comforting to know that this is still my home. I know that I still have what is important: my family. The amount of support that we are getting is amazing. People on our hockey teams are always reaching out and checking in. The other place a lot of support is coming from is the Phish community. People who heard our story and wanted to do something are now giving us so much help. People that we have never met are reaching out, ready to help. It is incredible.
Hugs & smiles, Sylvie Joy Collins
Wanna help out my CollegeInvest Fund?
1. Go to Ugift529.com
2.Enter Sylvie's unique Ugift code: K6Q-T9J
3. Enter your name and the amount of your gift
4. Make your gift via electronic funds transfer or check
5. Thank you!!!
____
FROM GRANDMOM JUDY:
My Story of the December 30, 2021 event and aftermath
Thursday, December 30
10:30 ish. For our “Thursday Walk,” Tucker and I walked from my place to the trail next to Coal Creek Golf Course, and through the “left side” of Coal Creek Ranch. Nice day, but very windy. It was trash day and a few trash cans were on their sides in the street. Our conversation while walking covered many things, one in particular was a possible future scenario for their home as the kids get older. Returned home about 11:45.
12:03 Received an email from Gerry Anschutz, asking if I knew where the fire was and if it was close. Taken by surprise, I went outside and nearly got knocked over by the wind coming from the north west. I asked a neighbor if he knew where it was coming from and he thought it was coming from Davidson Mesa.
I went to Alana’s and watched the 9News noon edition and they had reporters on the scene. The winds were blowing at 85 to 100+ MPH and the reporter said “If you see fire, evacuate.”
A bit later I saw flames right across Dillon Road from my condo, so I ran back to tell Alana to evacuate, then went to my place and threw some things in the two LLBean bags that she had given me for my birthday and Christmas. A change of clothes, a travel case with toothpaste, etc., a picture of Jack that I don’t think was on the Cloud, library books, Chromebook, charger, and iPhone charger. Then back outside where I saw that a bush was on fire in front of unit 104 (across from Alana’s) and a bigger one in front of the 750 building, unit 100. Tom and Frank worked to put them out with fire extinguishers and water. (I later learned that by doing this at 750/100, they kept it from spreading to the front of the rest of the building.)
I went to Gerry’s and knocked on her door but got no answer, then looking at my phone, I saw that she had texted to say that she had already left with a friend. So Alana and I decided to evacuate together in her car and we left, heading toward Turnberry Circle, thinking that the fire was coming from north and west, and wanting to connect with our families. Alana's daughter's family live across from Tucker & Gina and the kids, on Turnberry Circle.
1:44 Gina texts: “We are driving east on Dillon. Where are you? I need to know you’re safe.“
We connect by phone and initially I am panicked because I thought she meant she was coming to me and we were going to her. She told me to go to the parking lot at the Colorado Technical Center and meet there. The traffic was bumper to bumper on Dillon, so we took W. Cherry Street to 96th and crawled on Dillon to the Tech Center.
1:50 I texted my son, John in California: “Fires here. We are evacuating!!! Very scary!!!
John: Yikes! Stay safe. Nothing else matters.
Me: Fire right in the complex, across the street too.
John: oh no, are you out already?
Me: Yes, we are headed east. Not sure where we will end up.
John: Don’t worry about that yet. What about Tucker and family?
Me: I think T is in Boulder, Gina and kids meeting us down the road.
John: Can I book you and them a hotel room or Airbnb.
Me: I’ll check when I see them. Thanks!
At the Tech Center, we spot Gina’s car and pull in. Meanwhile, Alana has connected with the Christensen’s (her daughter's family) and we wait for them to arrive. When they arrive, Gina asks if it is safe to go back to Turnberry to retrieve Tucker’s computer. They say no, that there is fire on the street. So we part company, and go on to a hockey family’s house in Erie where Tucker meets us a short time later.
We spend the evening glued to the television coverage and watching the fire live from the sliding glass doors in the Simmons family’s family room.
More texts with John:
5:25
Me: We are at a friends house in Broomfield (Erie). Watching the news. Golf course near T’s house has several fires. Fire in yard 3 doors from them. Whole towns of Superior and Louisville evacuating. Hotel near Sports Stable burning. Tucker just got here. We can see the smoke from here. T&G very worried about their house. Neighbors have sent some pictures of things very close by. They are showing structural fires on TV. They are right across the street from my place.
(John is watching the coverage we are watching.)
John: Yes, the description of the location is pretty clear. I’m so sorry for you and them.
6:49 John sends a picture of me and him in Bitburg back in 2013…”Great memories don’t require a home or possessions. Love you, and everyone is gonna get through this.”
Me: Thanks for reminding me, we are pretty down right now. T’s house most likely gone. Mine might be too. They just said on TV that all the homes on Turnberry Circle are gone.
9:09
John: just got your message. How are Tucker and family? Any news on your place?
Me: Tucker is not doing well. He didn’t get to go home and get some stuff that was important to him. He’s mourning the loss of a house he loved and all of the stuff he loved. Gina is in shock. The kids are sad but can’t fathom it all as yet. Our rec center is gone, as is police headquarters [false reporting we learned later]. The town will never be the same. [True] I’ve heard that my building is still standing but no more details.
Somehow we get through that evening, eating but not tasting the food Julie and Tom provide, watching non-stop coverage of an epic disaster evolving right before our eyes. We go to bed, but no one gets much sleep.
Friday, December 31
Showered and dressed, we face the day with more food, this time bagels and coffee. The Lockrems stop by to tell Tucker that his hockey gear and Keller’s will be replaced by the Avalanche, and that they have been contacted by various companies. They give T&G a Phish poster and some clothes for Keller. Tom gives Tucker some clothes. My nephew, John Herman, calls me to ask if there is anything he can do to help and can he start a GoFundMe. I tell him that one is already in place (started by John and John Maselli). Steve and Ann text, as do my sisters, all with loving encouragement.
8:31
John: Any news on your place yet? How is everyone this morning?
Me: We can’t go back yet. Still smoldering they are still working. We are so touched by your GoFundMe. Call Tucker if you haven’t already. Needs your support. We all got a little sleep.
11:39 John sends JPEG image from 9news.
John: Your place is just out of frame, so can’t tell anything, but you can clearly see Tucker’s place gone.
Me: That’s about what I expected. Right now we are at the outlets trying to be normal. Also, Gina forgot to pack underwear. Made sure the kids did, but forgot her own.
John: That’s awesome with the Avs. And glad to find some levity with underwear.
2:06 Me: Just heard from Tom: “Copper Crest is amazingly untouched. Smells smoky inside but otherwise fine. The gas is still off. But when we were there the electricity was on.” We still can’t get in to neighborhood. We have booked rooms for 2 nights in Westminster.
John: That is great news!
3:21 I send the pictures the Christensen’s took when they walked in to Turnberry. Devastating, horrible images of the ruins of a once vibrant neighborhood. It’s a nightmare that will never go away.
Saturday, January 1
New Year’s Day. No hangovers from a riotous fun-filled New Year’s Eve. Only the stark realization of the end of a life as we knew it. Time to look ahead and focus on the here and now which involves trying to get in to view the ruins and finding a way to get back to my place to retrieve my car. Details to hang on to. There is a good possibility of a place to live on Walnut Street in Boulder for Tucker & family.
11:55 Tucker phones to say that he and Gina get in to view what’s left of their home. A hole where the basement was. Still smoldering. Here’s hoping they can retrieve some things [unfortunately, nothing was salvageable, completely incinerated].
3:57 I tell John to Google the Walnut Street place, which I thought was a condo, but it turns out it is a free standing house just renovated but no one has lived in it since renovations. I hope it works out to be a good place to “land.” He thinks it looks familiar.
TandG go to see the place, and think it will meet their immediate need for housing. They get my car and check out the condo, reporting that all is well. (Phew!) Meanwhile, it has snowed about 4-5 inches. Too late, Mother Nature. I receive word from the condo management company to “trickle” water to keep pipes from freezing, so I drive there. Flemming, Alana, Lydia and Abel (the Christensens) arrive to trickle Alana’s pipes and Lydia helps me get in by sliding through the space on the patio and opening that door because my front door keypad has chosen this day to malfunction. While I am dealing with that, Flemming goes around trickling the taps. After they leave, I went to Gerry’s to do the same but found that it had already been done. It was very weird to be there without lights on. But everything that I could see was intact. Thank you Lydia, Flemming and iPhone flashlight!
Sunday, January 2
I check out of the hotel (TGKS will stay another night) and drive my car back home, picking up bottled water on the way because there is a “boil water” directive for Louisville. There is no heat, but there is power and I will manage with a space heater. Before going to an early Avalanche game to help defer the trauma, we all go to check out the Walnut Street place in Boulder. It is small, but has 3 BRs and 2 BAs and new appliances. Off street parking. Modern touches along with old time style. A view of the Flatirons from the kitchen. They can move in tomorrow!! It was good to go to the Avs game and think about something else, even if only superficially, and, they won.
After I got home, I went to the emergency assistance location at the Y in Lafayette to pick up two free space heaters. Brought them home but could only use one as three broke the circuit. One placed strategically near wherever I am works anyway. Now what to do with 2 space heaters? Started taking the Christmas tree down. There is no more “holly jolly” for now.
Monday, January 3
Move in day for TGKS. They cleaned floors before getting twin mattresses and air mattresses to sleep in their new home for the first night. My heat came back on, so I am officially back home. Glad that my place was saved but devastated that their home and all that it held has been incinerated. What will the future bring? A rebuild, a move? So many unknowns just now. Just as someone said “Our kids are in school here. We work here. Our life was pretty darn near perfect. With the flip of a switch, it was turned upside down. It feels really daunting and overwhelming.” And, it stinks. I am grieving along with my family and a thousand other families. In a million years, we would never have imagined something like this could happen. That’s my story, but it has no happy ending. Yet.
Thank you all for the support, Judy Collins (Grandmom)
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FROM GINA:
December 30, 2021
11:44 am -The kids and I smelled fire as we were about to leave the house and head over to the Louisville Rec Center for a workout. We paused and ran up the hill to see what we were smelling. The fire was way off in the distance, but the wind was fierce. The air quality was terrible so we decided to wait on the gym and stay home for a bit.
12:52pm - It was bad. I put on goggles and a mask to see if I could see any nearby flames out our back door. No flames, but the wind was powerful. I couldn't stand up, and it was terrifying.
1:10pm- The firestorm was moving fast. We watched raccoons leaving their den at 1pm. The kids and I stood in my bedroom in awe of the smoke barrelling through our neighborhood. Keller was terrified. Sylvie remained calm and task-driven in the moments of crisis.
1:37pm- I closed our garage door for the last time ever. We drove to a nearby office complex and waited there to meet Judy (Tucker's mom).
2:04pm- Judy and her friend, Alana arrived. Alana's family lives across the street from us. They met us in the same parking lot. I asked if they thought I could go back and grab Tucker's computer (that I had forgotten). They said our neighborhood was already in flames when they escaped.
From there, you can watch news coverage. Our neighborhood, right behind Avista hospital, was engulfed in flames from this insane "firestorm". It was too dangerous for firefighters to try and save. Understandably, they had to move on to homes that might be saved. We watched our neighborhood being eaten by the fire in spectacular fashion for hours.
January 1, 2022- We arrived at the "smoldering hole" for just a few minutes. The smell was toxic. And the view was gut-wrenching.
Tucker's video is powerful. And has been helping us heal.
We drove out of the neighborhood the same way we had driven in 6 years ago with our wonderful realtor, Andrew.
We drove all the way to Boulder in tears and disbelief. And arrived at a sweet empty house in Downtown Boulder to inspect before we camped out in it. Through the love and support of our community, we secured a place to land. We moved in on January 3. We're settling in for a while to ground ourselves and give this team time to regroup.
Here is a picture of our backyard buddha, gracing the porch of our new space.
LOVE & SMILES, GINA COLLINS
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FROM TUCKER:
I was home that morning, but away when the family evac'd.
It was an extremely windy red flag day. It was also our neighborhood's trash day, an unlucky combo that every Coloradan on the front range knows about. So I had been up early to re-close the lids on our bins and bring them up to the garage so they would stop falling over. I spent the morning looking out for the trash & recycle trucks. I remember these huge gusts of 70+ mph at sunrise, but it backed off by 10am.
I walked with my mother Judy, as we do every Thursday. It was 10:28am this time though, earlier than usual, and since I was on a staycation-vacation at home that holiday week, we walked through my neighborhood instead of near my work campus in town. My mom and I had a good 2.43 mile walk without being too disturbed by the 40+ mph gusts.
At 11:45am I was running late for an appointment in Boulder. Gina said she smelled smoke. On my way down US 36 into Boulder, as I watched the plume, I drove passed what I thought was a simple grass fire that was going to be contained, even though it was 100+mph wind, no prob, it was far from our home, MILES from home, with commercial businesses and roads and a highway between the beast and our lot.
By 12:08pm I am slipping into a comfortable spa robe at a place in Boulder that had half of its giant glass double door entry blown off its hinges in the wind. Should've seen that as a sign I guess. Before climbing onto a warmed massage bed, a delayed birthday gift from my wife, my focus was turned inward.
You see everyone, 12/30 was designated for several weeks, as my self-care day. I scheduled my first massage in 5 years for that day, followed by an my first 80-minute salt water float tank session in as many years, just to combine them and get even more loose.
As I lay there getting my shoulder knots abused, getting my hamstrings unstrung, the evacuation orders hit, my wife & kids were at home, and they have terrifying video as the smoke advanced into our neighborhood.
I walked out of the massage when it was over, to a text from Gina,
"The raccoons are leaving, so are we."
And scrolling up to read the earlier messages, I saw they evac'd. So, i headed to the rally point due east, 15 mins from home, thinking they had to evac because of smoke, things should be fine.
A few hours later, our exact home was on TV, on fire. I confirmed in a still image I nabbed from twitter. Our house was dying.
My day to relax.
- T
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THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR SUPPORT & ENERGY
We have a huge list of beautiful souls to reach out to when we get our heads above all this. Looking forward to that has been a nice distraction in the midst of trips to the Disaster Assistance Center, donation drop locations, and work.
We are fascinated at how much love & care came rushing in as we watched our town burn. The love is REAL. Our community, our friends, our family, co-workers, former bosses & elementary school friends from 35+ years ago, and the absolute kindness of strangers have filled our world with hope.
For now, please know we are putting all our effort into understanding the recovery & disaster process as our full focus outside of our professional roles. While that is happening, the donations and support are being directed to the right long-term & short-term buckets so we can optimize our recovery and live again.
As many of our neighbors are finding out, we have insurance, but due to pandemic circumstances with supply costs & labor costs, combined with the volume of losses in one distinct area, compounded by the home value changes in the last 3 years, the insurance company funds for most of the destroyed homes will fall well short of rebuilding costs. There are 1,000+ homes in this circumstance. ARTICLE HERE Denver Gazette
With love and in solidarity with our community,
- Tucker & Gina & Sylvie & Keller
