Lyons community rallies behind firefighters, victims

It has been a grueling three days for firefighters in Colorado like Caleb Landry, who came all the way up to the Lyons area from Sedalia to help tackle the ongoing Stone Canyon Fire in Boulder County.

"You hate to see fires go like this, but it lets us do our jobs. It lets us do what we trained for," said Landry, who is with the Jackson 105 Fire Protection District.

Landry is one of roughly 225 firefighters who have been working this fire, living amongst the 2,200 people that make up Lyons.

"We are so grateful. We are so grateful to the firefighters and all of the people who are working on this incident," said Lyons Mayor Hollie Rogin. "I'm not sure we're not still on the defensive. We're welcoming people home, which is really wonderful, but we know conditions can change in a moment."

Rogin says as first responder continue to battle the fire, they have prioritized creating a space for them to sleep in places like LaVern Johnson Park and even inside their town hall, where Landry has been catching up on rest.

"Having a dark air-conditioned place to sleep and then we've got cots and blankets and stuff," said Landry. "It's been huge because getting good rest is really important to what we're doing, especially on nights, you can't really be snoozing."

Landry says it is hospitality like this that has become a game changer in the fight to protect homes and people from the flames.

"It makes you feel welcomed because we're not from here. This isn't our town. Obviously, it's a stressful situation, things are on fire, homes are being lost," he said. "Just to have people understand and be grateful as well as just welcoming. They're asking you how you're doing, how your day is going, it makes it a lot easier."

It's this welcoming spirit that has gotten people and businesses in Lyons through disasters in the past, like flooding and the COVID-19 pandemic.

"This is a chance again for our community to rally and do something," said Craig Englehorn, co-founder and head distiller at Spirit Hound Distillers.

Englehorn said now that much of the town and surrounding area's evacuation orders have been lifted, they are planning to fundraiser for people those who have lost their homes or been displaced from the fire.

"We've got really good friends who house literally is gone. To the ground, gone. And when we evacuated town, the flames were starting to come over the ridge, and it wouldn't have been too much of a stretch to see our house go away either," said Englehorn.