Looking back on the Waldo Canyon Fire 12 years later

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. ( KXRM ) — This week marks 12 years since the Waldo Canyon Fire sparked in southern Colorado. At the time, it was the most destructive wildfire in Colorado’s history.

The fire started on June 23, 2012, in the Pike National Forest about three miles west of Colorado Springs, north of Highway 24.

Luckily, the city is stronger than ever, but that does not mean the fire has vanished from the community’s consciousness.

“It was so surreal, just the entire side of the mountain glowing red. Very, very scary time,” said Jeremy McCoy.

The McCoy family made a stained glass art piece out of some of the items they found in the rubble as a way of remembering the deadly and destructive fire. The McCoy family’s home on Courtney Drive was one of hundreds destroyed after the wildfire scorched more than 18,000 acres.

Darkened skies, ash falling like snow, and the sight of flames moving closer to the city — that’s how many remember the Waldo Canyon Fire.

“There was very little time to react, less than an hour, by the time that the announcement went out, it was barely enough time for my dad and sister, who were in the house asleep at the time, to make it out in time,” said McCoy.

Eighteen thousand acres turned to ash, 347 homes were reduced to rubble and two lives were lost to the fire.

“The ash was falling like snow, even had a flaky consistency to it like snowflakes do,” McCoy said.

Twenty-six thousand people were forced from their homes as crews battled the flames, and for many like the McCoy family, they returned to sift through what remained of their homes and memories.

“It was just holes in the ground left filled with ash,” McCoy said.

Today, Courtney Drive looks nothing like it did 12 years ago. Neighbors have rebuilt and vegetation has regrown.

“We were able to get a much nicer house than we had before as a result of the rise in value for the time we’ve had it,” McCoy said.

The Flying W Ranch is also back and better than ever after it burned to the ground all those years ago.

“The Flying W will continue to grow for the next 70 years in a positive direction,” said Samuel McKee, operations manager at the Flying W Ranch.

A cross on the ranch survived the fire, and the owners took that as a beacon of hope to rebuild.

“The cross signifies an important part of the ranch and kind of gave hope and a sense of peace for what the future would look like,” added McKee.

The scar will always remain on the land and in the collective memory of those who lived through it. Homes are rebuilt and grasses flourish on once-burned land, but Colorado Springs will always remember the plume of smoke rising from its west side, and heed the lessons learned that summer.

“I think that it’s very important to at least run through the scenario once in your life, and ask yourself what are you going to pack? Make it a short list, because you won’t have much time in an emergency,” stressed McCoy.

“This day is a reminder that it can happen to us,” said the Colorado Springs Fire Department in a post on social media commemorating the day. “Preparing now gets us ready for when that day happens, whether it is mitigation, preparing for an evacuation or coming up with a family plan, we always need to be ready.”

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