LARIMER COUNTY, Colo. — The trees on Bill Harvey’s property are a testament to just how close the Alexander Mountain Fire was to taking his home. The green grass hits a point that instead is filled with ash and debris from Harvey’s once woodshop.
“The fire was so hot, it probably cooked these trees and, you can see the trees behind me and stuff that they went through, the pine cones and pine needles,” Harvey said. “I mean, once it got going it was almost impossible to stop.”
Over the past three decades, Harvey has called Storm Mountain home, witnessing other fires come close to the area and a flood, but the Alexander Mountain Fire was the worst experience.
“It was unbelievable how hot it got here,” Harvey explained. "I lost some of my fruit trees. The fire going all the way around my house, it got within 30 feet of the house, and it just kind of quit, jumped the road and went all the way up around and caught this [area] on fire," he said. "So my house and this little one down here are the only ones that made it through Possum Court.”
The area where his woodshop once stood is now surrounded by scorched trees and the ground is filled with ash and melted remains from tools.
“[There] used to be two doors here, and I used to have my stands and stuff right here, that has all my hand tools underneath it, and back here, I had almost $3,000 worth of beetle kill wood, and it's totally gone."
Harvey shared his story earlier this month with Denver7, explaining the joy of woodworking and why the loss on his land brings immense sorrow. What he did not know, is how his story resonated with several Denver7 viewers leading them to take action to help him out.
Ali Gribas and Kathy Hammond are strangers to each other, but both shared similar stories. Each of their garages was filled with their late husband’s tools leading them to have the idea to donate these items to Harvey.
“Well, I was watching the news and they were talking about the Alexander (Mountain) Fire, and they were interviewing… Bill Harvey and he said that his woodshop burned down and everything with it,” Gribas said. “I thought, 'I have all this stuff in my garage, it’s just sitting there, and I would love to give it to someone who can use it.'”
Thanks to the help of her grandson, Gribas had the tools laid out and ready for Harvey. Similarly, Hammond was able to load up her truck with several tools so that he could select the ones he needed.
“It's just... this was my wonderful husband's portion of his wonderful collection,” Hammond explained. “When Channel 7 came on with the news. I just thought, 'this is something that would make him so very, very happy' and I saw your interview and with you, with your daughter, and I just... it just spoke to me and I know that he would love it.”
Both women explained to Harvey the tools collections their husbands had acquired over the years and the stories that came with some.
“We’ve got routers and band saws and a table saw and the box of very miscellaneous router bits and whatever. This lovely case has one of those, you know, everything the drill, the saw, all of that,” Hammond said.
Harvey was not only surprised by the amount of tools, but also by the news of a viewer who reached out to Denver7 Gives to donate him $500 to any other tools which he may need.
Harvey plans for a future woodshop, and now when he creates, he can remember through these tools the kindness and support that came from their original owners.
Positive stories of Coloradans helping one another through Denver7 Gives, Denver7's joint initiative with the Scripps Howard Fund. Go here to donate or to find ways to help in Denver and throughout Colorado through Denver7 Gives.
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