Family loses home, damage to property from wildfire
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WELD COUNTY, CO (KDVR) — Fire crews were able to contain a grass fire in Hudson, several hours after it started on Sunday afternoon and burned more than 2,000 acres—but not before it destroyed a home off of County Road 49.
And, the family inside at the time barely made it out alive.
Becky Heier shared an emotional video on Sunday, as she and her husband drove onto the 40-acre property, shortly after her childhood home had burned down.
She raced over from Brighton, after her parents and younger sister called her, letting her know they had escaped from their burning home.
“It’s all gone,” an emotional Heier can be heard saying in the video, as they pull onto the property.
Heier says her parents told her they heard a “boom” sound just before 3 p.m., on Sunday, and immediately called the power company.
They say an automated message said the power was out in their area.
Shortly after that, smoke poured through an open window into their home—filling it in a matter of minutes.
Heier says her family wasn’t able to find the front door, because the smoke was so heavy.
“They did manage to kind of work their way still through the house and got to the garage door and got through the garage,” Heier told FOX31, during a Zoom interview Sunday night.
“Mom said she could barely see in front of her. And, they got to the car—dad sad the flames in the front yard were over five feet tall,” she added.
Heier says her family made it out alive, and are safe now.
They had about ten cats and kittens, and were only able to rescue one kitten—though our news crews spotted a cat and kitten on the property Sunday evening.
The family plans to return to the property on Monday to search for them.
The home was built back in 1976, six years after Heier’s family purchased the property.
The grass fire not only destroyed their home, but also vintage cars, sheds, and trailers—among other things.
“It’s something that you watch on TV or see other people go through. And it’s eye opening to see how quickly you can lose it all. But we’re still here, so it’s not everything,” she said.
She says, health-wise, her parents and younger sister are doing okay.
“It will be okay. Mom’s already talking about either building it exactly how it was… so it will be okay. But right now, it’s just—take a shower, get the smoke out of our hair, and probably get up and go to mass in the morning.”
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