LOUISVILLE, Colo. — Linda Jackson had many fond memories of her home in Louisville.
“Twenty years I lived here,” Jackson said. “It was a three-story house on the open space. It was beautiful and everything was fixed up just the way I wanted it.”
Which makes what happened this week, so devastating.
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“I think it was around 1 o’clock,” Jackson said. “I could see flames. I could see flames in my backyard and I knew I had to get out. I went downstairs, no electricity in my garage and my garage wouldn’t open. I thought about just walking out and walking down the street, but I called 911 and the fire department came and got me out.”
She knew then there would likely be little to come home to.
“I knew it was just going to be ash,” Jackson said.
Her home gone, including the classic she was storing in the garage for her neighbor.
“I think it’s a Ford Shogun,” Jackson said. “And there were only six of them in the world and that was his Shogun car right there. Jay Leno has one.”
Yet despite all this destruction, there is hope.
“My grandparents have a really good attitude about it,” said Layla DiCarlo, whose grandparents live just down the block from Jackson.
“It’s like a dream,” said Layla’s aunt, Bre DiCarlo. “It’s like this isn't real. They were home and he had hip surgery, so they weren't really aware of what was going on. They didn't have the news on or anything."
"My grandma couldn't figure out how to get the garage door open,” said Layla DiCarlo. “So, luckily the firemen were running around everywhere making sure people could get out and everything and my grandparents got out and they came and stayed with us last night."
Bre DiCarlo says her in-laws feel incredibly fortunate.
"God is good and they are blessed to be alive and have their health,” Bre DiCarlo said. “And their memories will always be with them and that's their attitude right now."
A family and an entire community rising in the face of tragedy.
"This is just a time when we can come together as a community and build each other up and help where we can," Bre DiCarlo said.
“I’m going to rebuild,” Jackson said. “Yes, I will. I love living in Louisville. I love this area and I love Colorado.”
An attitude of perseverance.
“It is what it is,” Jackson said. “That’s the way I look at life. I was going to Antarctica in February, but I’m not going. That was going to be my big adventure – this is my big adventure in life."