Remnants of the Winters' home in Black Forest. Note the brick wall that collapsed on the left.

(June 19, 2013- by Harold Goerzen) "Hey, Black Forest is on fire!" These were the words receptionist Daunice Winters had been dreading when she answered a call the afternoon of Tuesday, June 11.

With temperatures in the high 90s, winds gusting to 30 mph and humidity in the single digits, she and her husband, Bob, knew the situation was extremely dangerous. A part-time employee at the HCJB Global Ministry Service Center in Colorado Springs, Colo., Daunice rushed to her country home where she met her husband and daughter, Kate, who was awakened from a deep sleep at her parents' place after completing her nightshift.

"We saw dark smoke mixed with white," Daunice described. "It was above the trees and smelled very smoky. I grabbed medicines, jewelry and some clothes." Most of the mementoes she rescued were stored in containers that she'd put together last July after the Waldo Canyon Fire.

That fire blew down the lower flanks of Pikes Peak, devastating the Mountain Shadows neighborhood in western Colorado Springs. It burned 347 homes and killed two people-at the time the most destructive fire in the state's history. But it would be superseded by the Black Forest Fire northeast of the city that destroyed more than 509 houses and also killed two people who were in the process of evacuating.

As the Winters were packing their truck and gathering their pets-five dogs and a parrot-the sheriff came up to their home and said, "Are you getting out?" Satisfied with their affirmative response, he drove away.

Daunice answers the phone at the HCJB Global Minisry Service Center in Colorado Springs.

"Then we got the reverse 911 calls to say there was a mandatory evacuation," Daunice shared. "As I went back to the house to get a few more things, the sheriff came again, speeding up the driveway with urgency this time. He had a bullhorn and demanded, 'Get out now!'"

As the Winters fled their property, clouds of smoke billowing behind them, Daunice wished she had taken her grandfather's antique hutch and the sewing machine owned by her 99-year-old mother.

Fearing the worst, Daunice learned about the fate of her property the next morning when she got a call from a detective who wanted to make sure she and her family were OK.

"The officer asked if we wanted to know what had happened to our property," Daunice related. "I said yes, and then she told me that no structures were standing. Besides our house, we had a shed, a barn, a large detached garage and several vehicles."

Daunice admitted she was glad to get some "definitive news," as bad as it was. "I didn't cry or anything. I guess I was in shock."

A vehicle that Bob was working on before the fire hit on June 11.

Due to the potential dangers and the threat of looting, the Winters weren't allowed to see their property until Tuesday, June 18.

"When I saw what was left of our home, the overall feeling was one of amazement-the incredible power of a fire," Daunice explained. "Yes, there is a sorrow. Yet we didn't focus on the stuff we'd lost. Instead, we focused on how fire can reduce it to piles of ashes. We kept saying, 'Wow, that's amazing!'"

The Winters were also surprised to see some of the things that didn't burn-one of their woodpiles, a dumpster, wheelbarrow, some of the trees and two of their five chickens.

Daunice and her husband are now working to come up with a list of their possessions for insurance purposes, and they've moved in with their daughter-in-law temporarily.

"It's one thing to think about the possibility of a fire and another to see it actually happen," Daunice said. "But life is simpler now. We don't have to worry about fire mitigation, watering the lilacs or mowing the grass! The silver lining is that we have insurance that we'd just renewed a few weeks ago. Not all who lost homes had insurance."

How are the Winters coping with such a sudden loss? "It's really too early to say," Daunice said. "Christ says, 'Follow me.' We're going down a road that we didn't know we'd have to go down. Our direction has changed, but He is with us."

Firefighters line up to cross a field putting out hot spots in an area off Hodgen Road in the northern part of the burn area on Monday, June 17. The Black Forest Fire was estimated at 85-percent containment by Wednesday, June 19. (Photo by Carol Lawrence, The Gazette.)

Daunice gave praise for the firefighters who risked their lives and all those who have donated food, cash and even a mattress and a couch.

"The people who fight the fires did an incredible job. They made a great sacrifice. Twice they came out to get us out. We might have been the last people on our street to leave. As we left we realized how close the fire was to us."

Despite the situation, the Winters have no doubts about God's faithfulness. "When you remove all the stuff you deal with, life goes on," Daunice offered. "Eternity is real. He gives us the gift of things and a routine because of His goodness, but stuff is not the most important thing. Your relationship with Jesus is. This fire gave us a peek into that spiritual reality."

"I want to say just how much the prayer support means to me and our family," Daunice concluded. "God has truly sustained us and brought us peace, and we could not stand without the support of everyone's prayers."

Source: HCJB Global {source}
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