GRAND LAKE, Colo. (KDVR) — After being evacuated for 10 days in the East Troublesome Fire, a Grand Lake resident came back to his boat iced into the marina.
With the help of some neighbors and friends, Peter Esmonde managed pick his pontoon boat out of the marina in just about 45 minutes, using a homemade ice pick made out of an axe, duct tape and a pole.
FOX31 viewer and photographer John Williams captured the entire process.
Once freed from the ice, the group got a different view of the damage and devastation hitting their community.
“We know too many people who have lost everything,” Esmonde said, adding “it is a heartbreak but it’s Grand Lake. We will take care of each other we’re sweet people, we’re resilient.”
Esmonde is known by the Grand Lake community as “Peter the Painter.” He says he’s typically the first boat in and last boat out of the marina every year.