LOVELAND, Colo. — Volunteers spent Saturday morning filling hundreds of bags with sand outside a Loveland church, as officials warn of anticipated flooding following the Alexander Mountain Fire.
The Christian service group “Serve 6.8” loaded gravel into bags and then onto pallets, finishing hundreds of bags in just a few hours.
At 92 years old, Clara Dee Martin spent the morning opening the bags on the assembly line, a job she took great pride in.
“I like to help people, I’m a servant,” she said.
Martin and a few dozen other volunteers have been in this situation before, building bags after the Cameron Peak Fire.
“You hate to see people suffer and lose something, and I can’t imagine going home and not having anything,” she said. “So, it’s just a blessing to help.”
Volunteers are planning to assemble about 4,000 to 5,000 sandbags over the next few weeks, and pass them out as needed through the spring.
People can pick them up at the Rez Church in Loveland from 10am-Noon on Saturday August 17th, and Saturday August 25th.
The Alexander Mountain Fire has burned more than 9,000 acres in Larimer County since it started on July 29. 26 homes were lost and four others damaged. 21 outbuildings were destroyed. It was 91% contained as of Saturday night.