The wildfires in Los Angeles are drawing comparisons to Colorado’s most destructive wildfire. The Marshall Fire, which burned in Boulder County in December of 2021, was also a wintertime blaze, fueled by dry conditions and extreme winds, that tore through an urban area.
This past week, the fires in Los Angeles were all anyone could talk about in Reina Pomeroy’s Louisville community. Pomeroy’s home was among the more than 1,000 that burned in the Marshall Fire.
“It hurts our hearts to feel like there are more of us – like we're growing this unfortunate club,” she said.
Pomeroy co-founded Marshall Together, a grassroots nonprofit created by survivors to support one another after the fire. Now, they are raising funds to assist those affected by the fires in L.A.
In addition, Marshall Together is sharing lessons learned with those in California. One strategy that helped Pomeroy’s community begin to recover was the creation of a shared platform on the business messaging app Slack. Only those directly affected by the fire were allowed to join. Pomeroy said it was a way to filter through the onslaught of information.
“There was a lot of speculation, like, ‘I heard this,’ or, ‘You can get money here,’” she said.
Over time, the Slack space became a venue for the fire survivors to band together and advocate as a unit with insurance companies and lawmakers.
Pomeroy, who traveled to Lahaina after the Maui fire, is beginning to help communities in California set up similar virtual spaces. To those who have just lost their home, she offers a few key pieces of advice. First, despite the many barriers, she urges people to begin looking for rental housing as soon as possible.
“Your friend’s couch, your mother-in-law’s basement – it’s not going to cut it for the long-term,” she said.
She also recommends applying for FEMA assistance – even if the request is denied, the claim number can be helpful for applying for other types of aid. Finally, she said it’s important to wear PPE when visiting burn sites.
Three years after the Marshall Fire, Pomeroy also wants to offer hope to the survivors of recent fires. While the recovery process has been challenging and is still ongoing, about two-thirds of the homes destroyed in the Colorado fire have been rebuilt, though not all are occupied by their original owners. Pomeroy’s family moved into their new house about a year ago.
“The sense of camaraderie, the sense of community – I feel so grateful to be back,” she said.
But, she emphasized, recovery in Los Angeles will take time. The fires are still burning.
This story was produced by the Mountain West News Bureau, a collaboration between Wyoming Public Media, Nevada Public Radio, Boise State Public Radio in Idaho, KUNR in Nevada, KUNC in Colorado and KANW in New Mexico, with support from affiliate stations across the region. Funding for the Mountain West News Bureau is provided in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
