COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KOAA) — Monday marks the 13th anniversary of the start of the Waldo Canyon Fire. Flames tore into the Mountain Shadows neighborhood in northwest Colorado Springs leaving lasting trauma for those who lived through it.
The fire took the lives of two people and destroyed 346 homes. More than 33,000 people were evacuated in the Pikes Peak region. The fire burned more than 18,000 acres and caused more than $350 million in damage.
News5 talked with a neighbor, Catherine Abate, who lived through the fire and lost everything but a few days worth of clothes.
"I have a different... perspective I guess, on things," said Abate. "Things are not as important. I think I have a lot of things more digitally saved, so, that the things that are really important to me aren't going to be lost."
In the days following the fire, Abate says the community was very supportive and still is to this day.
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