In the Marshall Fire burn area, neighbors are learning to fight embers and stop small fires

Three and a half years after the Marshall Fire, residents across the burn area and well beyond still tense up on hot, dry days. What began as two grass fires, fanned by hurricane-force winds, became Colorado’s most destructive wildfire. Fireworks weekends feel ominous, and red flag days — when heat and wind collide — bring the sharpest dread.

“There’s a lot of anxiety in Colorado on red flag days,” said Tawnya Somauroo, who lost her home in the Marshall Fire. “Everybody knows that as soon as things dry out, things can happen really, really fast.”

In response, Somauroo and the recovery group Marshall Together have launched a program to train residents in the burn area to fight small spot fires, fires sparked by embers from blazes or ignited by something as ordinary as a barbeque or a chainsaw.  

“[People] don’t want to feel like they’re sitting ducks. They want to feel like they can take action,” Somauroo told Boulder Reporting Lab. “Should an ignition happen, it’s really important that, as soon as possible, you can deal with it.” 

Somauroo was inspired by stories of Marshall Fire evacuees who leapt from their cars to put out fires they saw pop up north of South Boulder Road. These actions, she said, potentially saved hundreds more homes. 

The training sessions are led by John Willson, the fire chief of the Louisville Fire Protection District. The first training took place in June, with another workshop planned for August. Around a hundred people have already signed up. 

Each session lasts about 30 minutes and Willson teaches residents to use two basic tools: a backpack water pump to cool the flames and a wide rubber swatter to smother them. The waterpack can also be used to pre-wet homes before evacuation. 

“Those are the two tools that we thought would come in handy for our citizens, to allow them to be a little bit empowered to protect their houses a little before they leave or wildfires coming up on them,” Willson said. Residents take the gear home after training for free. 

Photo credit: Louisville Fire Chief John Willson training residents in the Marshall Fire area. Courtesy of Tawnya Somauroo

At first, Willson was hesitant, not eager to throw residents into the throes of firefighting. But once he understood the goal – giving them a way to stop small ignitions before they spread while still calling the fire department — he signed on. 

He compares the approach to using a kitchen fire extinguisher in a kitchen. “We’re just taking that fire extinguisher method and taking it outside,” he said. 

Somauroo thinks of it as defending your own personal island. Embers, not walls of flame, are what leap roads and greenbelts to reach homes. 

“A lot of people imagine it’s just this wall of fire that comes and it’s just structure-to-structure and there’s nothing you can do, and they don’t see that it’s really mostly embers,” Somauroo said. With the right gear, residents can sometimes protect their space but she stresses they must never let themselves become trapped. 

Interest is spreading. The Mountain View Fire District is preparing to launch a similar program for their residents. People outside the Marshall Fire burn area have asked Somauroo for advice on starting their own. 

Her efforts are driven by frustration. She criticizes Louisville’s wildfire response and calls the city’s mitigation efforts too little, too late. A home-hardening ordinance passed last year requires fire-resistant materials for new construction and some renovations, but came after many Marshall Fire-destroyed homes have already been rebuilt. 

“It’s going to take decades for that to help,” Somauroo said. “We still don’t have a functioning emergency operations plan or anything. We are not any better off preparedness-wise than we were the day of the fire.” 

Instead, she says the city is focusing on reducing building emissions. She supports those efforts. But they don’t make her feel safer on red flag days. “I struggle with this a lot as a fire survivor.” 

For now, she finds hope in neighbors, and in action. Each year, the community holds a day to clear yards and debris. 

“Don’t be afraid to talk to your neighbors,” Somauroo said. “If you don’t see the culture of preparedness around you that you would like to see, don’t be afraid to create it yourself.”