Glen Osborne native living in Colorado left homeless due to wildfire

Jim and Katie Sullivan celebrated their first wedding anniversary just days after Christmas.

The Glen Osborne native turned Colorado resident met his future wife several years ago in the Centennial State and the couple tied the knot on Dec. 29, 2020.

Their first anniversary was to be part of a joyous year-end celebration.

But, the following afternoon, they, and hundreds of other families, were left homeless after a raging wildfire destroyed the Sagamore neighborhood of Superior.

A GoFundMe page was launched at the start of the year to help recoup some of Sullivans’ losses.

It had raised more than $18,000 toward its $100,000 goal by Jan. 6.

Reports indicate about two out of 35,000 some forced from their homes were unaccounted for, something Jim Sullivan found unbelievable given what he experienced.

“We made it out of here without a scratch, physically,” Jim Sullivan said. “Yes, we’ve taken a financial kick in the teeth, but given what happened (and) the fact that so few people are missing and or dead it is just unimaginable that everybody got out … The loss of human life is unimaginably low in my mind. It’s hard to fathom considering how fast this came up.”

Sullivan, a 1987 Quaker Valley High School graduate, was in a second-floor office when he smelled smoke on Dec. 30.

He said he thought it could be an electrical issue and went outside when he could not find the source.

His wife was at an appointment and not at home at the time.

Sullivan said outside he could see smoke in the distance. He grabbed their dog, Bug, a mixed breed rescue from New Mexico, and went to a nearby bluff to observe.

It was there he could see what had become an impending danger, a likely fire was fast approaching through acres of grassland near the suburb.

“I turned around and tried to get back to the house as fast as I could,” he said. “This is like a total of 4 to 5 minutes round-trip. As I came to approach my neighborhood again from the way I left, I was encountered with a big black wall of smoke. I couldn’t see through it.

“I didn’t know what was on the other side or what was in it … My assumption was that the neighborhood was already engulfed and there was no chance to go back. My only thought at that moment was to get the hell out of there because I don’t want to die by fire.”

Winds up to about 100 mph had pushed the wildfire through the densely populated area. The town was essentially destroyed.

He was eventually able to get a hold of Katie and they have been staying with friends since then.

Sullivan, 52, estimated their losses at around $200,000, including inventory and other supplies from their family business.

The Go Fund Me page has photos that the family acquired from the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office posted on the page.

It shows what was left of their van and the neighborhood. A video filmed and narrated by Jim Sullivan from an observation site on a bluff to the south was also posted.

Their home was among the estimated 1,000 buildings destroyed in the wildfires.

Investigators are narrowing their search and working on determining the cause of the fire, according to the Associated Press.

It could be weeks until anything is released.

Experts from the FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the U.S. Forest Service were participating in the investigation, the AP reported.

Katie designs jewelry and clothes produced in southeast Asia, and the couple sells them in the United States.

Most of what was in the house at the time were items originally made to be sold at Bonnaroo, a four-day music and arts festival in Manchester, Tenn.

They had made the trip only to have the festival be canceled in late August due to flooding and heavy rains.

They plan to see what is left of their community on Jan. 6.

They and hundreds of other families have been assisted through various donation centers.

FEMA assistance centers were also opened in Boulder County.

Sullivan said he is grateful for all the support he and his wife have received, including an invitation to stay at a friend’s Florida home the next several months.

“I’m feeling more grounded and centered that we have the support from the local community here,” he said. “We’ve been running to collection sites daily and picking up clothes to wear and basic home goods like towels and pots and pans from thrift stores. The community here has been extremely generous.”

He also praised the firefighters and emergency personnel who responded to the area.

It is unclear when homes could be rebuilt in the Sagamore neighborhood. Sullivan said they may find another place to live in Colorado.

“Our plans aren’t solid, but we’re just trying to be receptive to what the universe is bringing us,” Sullivan said.