{"id":1312099,"date":"2019-07-04T22:28:01","date_gmt":"2019-07-05T04:28:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.postindependent.com\/those-who-lost-homes-to-lake-christine-wildfire-try-to-look-past-the-pain-and-believe-in-their-future\/"},"modified":"2019-07-04T22:28:01","modified_gmt":"2019-07-05T04:28:01","slug":"those-who-lost-homes-to-lake-christine-wildfire-try-to-look-past-the-pain-and-believe-in-their-future","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/local-news\/those-who-lost-homes-to-lake-christine-wildfire-try-to-look-past-the-pain-and-believe-in-their-future\/","title":{"rendered":"Those who lost homes to Lake Christine wildfire try to look past the pain and believe in their future"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
Jose Martinez looks to his six-year-old daughter Andreina and mentions that although he has nothing left after the Lake Christine Fire destroyed his home he feels that he still came away with the most important thing in his life-his daughters. His wife Griselda and two-month-old daughter Camila are behind him.<\/strong>
Chelsea Self \/ Post Independent<\/em><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

Over the past year, sometimes it would be the lack of the basic living tools \u2014 try nail clippers for instance \u2014 that could send Bill and Andee McCauley into an emotional spiral.<\/p>\n

Or when Bill turned 68 earlier this year, Andee wanted to make him a cake but didn\u2019t have all of the necessary kitchenware to complete the task.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was going to make him his favorite,\u201d she recalled. \u201cAnd I had this meltdown, because I didn\u2019t have a mixer.\u201d<\/p>\n

Such has been the couple\u2019s way of life ever since their home was obliterated by the Lake Christine Fire on the Fourth of July. They are grateful for what they do have and try not to focus on what they don\u2019t have \u2014 unless it\u2019s an immediate need.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery day you have to count your blessings,\u201d said Bill McCauley on a warm June morning, as he sat outside in front of the spot he and Andee had enjoyed since they wed in April 2001.<\/p>\n

rebuilding<\/p>\n

Bill and his previous wife bought the home in 1987. It\u2019s the same parcel of land where a new home is going up. The McCauley couple hopes to be living there by the middle of the summer.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can always replace stuff,\u201d he said, \u201cbut not memories.\u201d<\/p>\n

For all of the horrific memories they have from that night their home burned to the ground, and there are plenty of them \u2014 like when firefighters pulled Andee out of the house as the fire was burning their home \u2014 the couple takes solace knowing that the same community they had supported over the years was returning the favor.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve always taken in the strays, and now we\u2019re the strays,\u201d Andee said.<\/p>\n

The fire thrust the two into a new world, even though they remained in the same area. First they stayed at the Element Basalt hotel for seven weeks.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey treated us like royalty,\u201d Bill recalled.<\/p>\n

They also dwelled at a residence in El Jebel and most recently have been living at the Ranch at Roaring Fork in Carbondale.<\/p>\n

Their way of life shattered because of the Lake Christine Fire, the McCauley couple said they even once considered leaving the Roaring Fork Valley for the Front Range. They have family members there and seriously considered it. For about a month.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe talked about moving to the Foothills,\u201d Bill said, adding he even suggested the RV life, but Andee wasn\u2019t having any of that.<\/p>\n

community support<\/p>\n

The outpouring of community support, however, convinced them the midvalley was their home for the future.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe people who came and contributed to us \u2014 how do you thank them?\u201d Bill said. \u201cTwenty bucks here and 100 bucks there, and checks that were larger.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added, \u201cThis valley is my family.\u201d<\/p>\n

GoFundMe contributions also poured in, like they did for the Martinez family, neighbors of the McCauleys on Lava Drive. The five-member family lost their home, which they had rented from Quent and Kara Williams for 14 years, to the blaze. Gone were some of their most prized possessions \u2014 father Jose Martinez\u2019s riding saddles, or one of the girl\u2019s bikes. Afterward the family lived in a tiny house provided by Aspen Skiing Co. before buying a home in Rifle partly with the proceeds of a GoFundMe account that raised more than $67,000 for them.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re OK now,\u201d said father and husband Jose Martinez, who works at the Top of the Village in Snowmass. \u201cEverything is OK now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Also displaced was the McCauleys\u2019 downstairs tenant, Levi Applegate, who lived there by himself for five months. Born and raised in Carbondale, Applegate, 35, said he lost most everything he had, but received clothing donations from Obermeyer and temporarily stayed at a friend\u2019s house in the nearby Missouri Heights area. Families of players on the youth soccer team he coached provided financial help as did others, said Applegate, who now resides in Old Snowmass.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been unbelievable, the tons of support,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Applegate said he still sees the McCauleys, mostly Bill, who works part-time at NAPA Auto Parts in El Jebel. He also plays cribbage with them, something they did as neighbors.<\/p>\n

trauma persists<\/p>\n

The McCauleys weren\u2019t shy in admitting they have had their moments over the past year, and they said they are likely living with post-traumatic stress disorder, especially from that night the fire shifted directions and claimed their home.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe broke down the other day,\u201d Bill said. \u201cAnd I woke up at 4:30 in the morning the other day screaming.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bill said he lost $100,000 worth of tools. Among Andee\u2019s prized possessions that were lost included her grandfather\u2019s journals and diaries from when he did missionary work in the 19th century, as well as the first half of the 20th, in Central America. Bill rescued their two cats and they saved Andee\u2019s jewelry, but other than that, they lost most everything their house contained.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re embracing the minimalist attitude,\u201d Andee laughed.<\/p>\n

And then there are the two young adults whom authorities have held responsible for starting the fire by shooting tracer rounds at the nearby Basalt shooting range. Fire danger was extremely high that day, and tracer rounds were prohibited at the range.<\/p>\n

Richard Miller and Allison Marcus, both in their mid 20s, each pleaded guilty in May to a misdemeanor charge of setting fire to woods or prairie. As part of the plea deal, the 5th Judicial District Attorney\u2019s Office dropped three charges of felony arson.<\/p>\n

Miller and Marcus were sentenced earlier this week to spend 45 days in Eagle County Jail, perform 1,500 hours of community service, be on probation for five years and each pay $100,000 in restitution.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know they did wrong but I don\u2019t know what 45 days in jail will do,\u201d firefighter Cleve Williams told The Aspen Times after the plea hearing. Williams and his wife, Kerry, also lost their home in Missouri Heights to the fire.<\/p>\n

All told, the fire burnt three residences to the ground.<\/p>\n

The McCauleys also have some opinions about the two defendants, but said they\u2019re trying to move on and not to harp on their legal fates.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think I agree with Cleve,\u201d Bill McCauley said of his friend. \u201cThey\u2019ve cost society enough money.\u201d<\/p>\n

Neither Miller nor Marcus have reached out to them, they said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d love to see them up here with a rake,\u201d Bill said as he gazed around his property where their new home will be.<\/p>\n

Their new home\u2019s kitchen will have windows facing the very mountain where the fire roared downhill \u2014 yes, down \u2014 and destroyed their home. That view will offer a daily perspective of what was and what is, they said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to look at the mountain,\u201d Andee said. \u201cI want to look at it all of the time. I want to see all of the new beginnings, and I want to look at the scorch. I want it to be a constant reminder.\u201d<\/p>\n

The two extended their gratitude for heroic efforts for the firefighters who battled the blaze and prevented it charring the entire midvalley remains. They have their friends. They have their family. And they not only have memories of their harrowing experience, but also memories of how they managed to pull through \u2014 thanks to their local support system.<\/p>\n

\u201cPass it on,\u201d Bill said. \u201cThat\u2019s the next step.\u201d<\/p>\n

via:: Post Independent<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Jose Martinez looks to his six-year-old daughter Andreina and mentions that although he has nothing left after the Lake Christine Fire destroyed his home he feels that he still came away with the most important thing in his life-his daughters. His wife Griselda and two-month-old daughter Camila are behind him.Chelsea Self \/ Post Independent Over […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[160],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-1312099","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-local-news"},"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-20 03:11:08","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSKE Ski Country","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1312099","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1312099"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1312099\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1312099"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1312099"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1312099"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}