SUPERIOR, Colo. (KDVR) — On Friday, crews started removing burned cars from neighborhoods impacted by the Marshall Fire.
The Sagamore subdivision was one of the first where the removal took place. Karla Bennet is glad the cars and other debris in the roadways are being cleared. As wreckers towed cars, Bennet was digging through the rubble on her property.
A team of Samaritan’s Purse volunteers was spread across the ashes helping her. They were helping her look for her most treasured items in rubble and ash left by the Marshall Fire.
“They are looking for anything that had enough of a memory. We had so many years of our lives. We were big bikers,” Bennett said. She’s hoping to salvage beloved belongings before they are hauled away.
“There is so much that you love and it’s gone but you’ll rebuild and move on. It’s bittersweet,” Bennett said.
Everywhere she looked, there was pain, even for her Toyota RAV4.
“I miss my car. It was beloved to me. It had a personality and a name and this was my Jesse Ravs,” Bennet said, fighting back tears. But then came word that her husband’s wedding ring, along with other treasured jewelry, had been found.
“(It is) joy sheer joy. It’s burned. It’s a mess, but it has memories,“ Bennett added.
The rings were found by Samaritan’s Purse volunteers Tim Van Lant of Louisville and Mike Morningstar of Castle Rock.
“That’s what makes us happy. It’s dirty, nasty work. You’re sifting through what looks like ashes and you find something meaningful for her, that’s why we’re here,” Bennett told FOX31.
All to help a stranger, before ashes full of memories are swept away.