LOVELAND, Colo. — Firefighting efforts in the Alexander Mountain Fire are shifting to recovery efforts in Larimer County as the sheriff's office opened a disaster assistance center on Friday. The center will help connect residents affected by the fire to resources.
The center will be open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday through Sunday at the Ranch Events Complex in Loveland. Residents can receive mental health services, food, and licensing information, and the Red Cross is providing gloves, masks, and trash bags to help clean up homes.
The 9,668-acre Alexander Mountain Fire, the largest of the wildfires burning Colorado, is 91% contained and was first reported on July 29. It forced the evacuations of more than 5,000 people in the area and destroyed 26 homes and 21 outbuildings. No injuries were reported.
The United States Forest Service determined that the fire was human-caused. The agency didn't provide specifics beyond that but asked for the public's help in gathering information as part of an active investigation.
"It's helping my mom out," said Josh King, a resident who was under a mandatory evacuation order.
King's mother recently recovered from lung cancer, and he worried the smoke might impact her health. King took him some cleaning supplies to help remove the smoke odor from his mother's home.
The county said they assisted 18 people on Friday and more than 30 on Saturday.
"We're here to provide information on rebuilding and planning resources," said Amy White, a spokesperson for Larimer County.
White called the center a "one-stop shop" that provided information and resources from different organizations. You can find more details here.
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