Eli Imadali for CPR NewsSharon, who preferred to go by her first name, reads on her cot at the YMCA Arapahoe Center, an evacuation center for those affected by the Marshall fire, in Lafayette, Colorado on Friday, December 31, 2021. She wonders about her cat, Moose, who ran off as they were evacuating, and about her and her partner’s house. “We don’t know what we’re going home to…What if we don’t have a house?”
Holding close to family and what few possessions they could gather at the last moment, and fearing for their lives, some Marshall fire evacuees found shelter at the YMCA Arapahoe Center, in Lafayette, on Friday. Photojournalist Eli Imadali met some of them and heard their stories.
Eli Imadali for CPR NewsDavid McLallen, a Louisville resident for 40 years, strokes one of his three cats, Sunshine, on his cot at the YMCA Arapahoe Center, an evacuation center for those affected by the Marshall fire, in Lafayette, Colorado on Friday, December 31, 2021. “I’m arthritic, so I don’t move real fast under the best of circumstances, so my thought was just cats. Get the cats. I know I have enough carriers, one for each of them, so I get the cats, I get them together and I make sure that I get them out to the car.” McLallen, who recently lost his wife and whose daughter lives elsewhere, says his cats, also called “the girls” by him, are his family.Eli Imadali for CPR NewsSiblings George and Cathy Zheng, 8 and 10, play on their cot at the YMCA Arapahoe Center, an evacuation center for those affected by the Marshall fire, in Lafayette, Colorado on Friday, December 31, 2021. Their family’s home is Superior is safe.Eli Imadali for CPR NewsCots are set up in the gym at the YMCA Arapahoe Center, an evacuation center for those affected by the Marshall fire, in Lafayette, Colorado on Friday, December 31, 2021.Eli Imadali for CPR NewsAs snow falls heavily, volunteers wait to give out supplies to those affected by the Marshall fire at the YMCA Arapahoe Center, an evacuation center, in Lafayette, Colorado on Friday, December 31, 2021. The snow is a welcome weather change that could help put out the fire.Eli Imadali for CPR NewsEloise Carden, left, and his aunt Ro Rianoshek transport space heaters from Xcel Energy for those affected by the Marshall fire at the YMCA Arapahoe Center, an evacuation center, in Lafayette, Colorado on Friday, December 31, 2021. Power outages and water boiling advisories are affecting much of the area.Eli Imadali for CPR NewsVolunteers pass out space heaters from Xcel Energy and bottled water from the American Red Cross at the YMCA Arapahoe Center, an evacuation center for those affected by the Marshall fire, in Lafayette, Colorado on Friday, December 31, 2021. Power outages and water boiling advisories are affecting much of the area.Eli Imadali for CPR NewsVolunteer Priyanka Harish, left, gives Sharon a slice of pizza at the YMCA Arapahoe Center, an evacuation center for those affected by the Marshall fire, in Lafayette, Colorado on Friday, December 31, 2021. Many being served at the evacuation center said volunteers were extremely helpful, kind and resourceful there.Eli Imadali for CPR NewsForrest Smith of Louisville rests while moving spots in search of a quiet area at the YMCA Arapahoe Center, an evacuation center for those affected by the Marshall fire, in Lafayette, Colorado on Friday, December 31, 2021. Smith thinks his house of 30 years is likely gone and is figuring out what to do next.Eli Imadali for CPR NewsSarah Hartley of Fort Collins makes her bed at the YMCA Arapahoe Center, an evacuation center for those affected by the Marshall fire, in Lafayette, Colorado on Friday, December 31, 2021. Hartley, who used to live in the area and had parked her car nearby before going out of town for the holidays, rushed straight to the shelter after landing at the airport back in Colorado. She does not yet know if her car is okay.Eli Imadali for CPR NewsVolunteer Karen Woolhiser, right, helps Meredith Manion of Louisville at the YMCA Arapahoe Center, an evacuation center for those affected by the Marshall fire, in Lafayette, Colorado on Friday, December 31, 2021.Eli Imadali for CPR NewsMeredith Manion of Louisville watches snow fall from the YMCA Arapahoe Center, an evacuation center for those affected by the Marshall fire, in Lafayette, Colorado on Friday, December 31, 2021. Manion, who lives in a retirement community, panicked and rushed out of her home without grabbing much. “It’s scary, you know. There’s one thing that we can’t have no control over and that’s fire. Man just tries to control everything, but fire…it’s scary.”Eli Imadali for CPR NewsA stuffed animal decorates a cot at the YMCA Arapahoe Center, an evacuation center for those affected by the Marshall fire, in Lafayette, Colorado on Friday, December 31, 2021.
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