{"id":416,"date":"2012-06-27T23:08:00","date_gmt":"2012-06-27T23:08:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/news\/catholic-charities-mobilizes-against-growing-colorado-fires\/"},"modified":"2012-06-27T23:08:00","modified_gmt":"2012-06-27T23:08:00","slug":"catholic-charities-mobilizes-against-growing-colorado-fires","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2012\/06\/catholic-charities-mobilizes-against-growing-colorado-fires\/","title":{"rendered":"Catholic Charities mobilizes against growing Colorado fires"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Colorado Springs, Colo., Jun 27, 2012 \/ 05:08 pm (CNA\/EWTN News<\/a>).- Both evacuees and residents of the Colorado Springs area are in \u201cutter shock and disbelief\u201d at the major fire threatening the outskirts of the city, a local Catholic Charities official says.<\/p>\n

\tRochelle Schlortt, communications director for Catholic Charities of Central Colorado, said the situation is \u201cjust scary.\u201d
\n\t\u00a0
\n\t\u201cYou look up and you see the smoke or you see the flames. It\u2019s like the entire mountainside is on fire,\u201d she told CNA June 27.<\/p>\n

\tSchlortt said the city's residents now \u201clive in a fog of smoke,\u201d which creates difficulties for anyone with respiratory problems, while others feel a \u201cconstant burning\u201d in their eyes and throats.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cSmoke has literally descended and engulfed not only the Colorado Springs city but the entire El Paso county.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tOver 30,000 people have evacuated neighborhoods north and west of Colorado Springs, including parts of the Air Force Academy, to escape the Waldo Canyon Fire which began June 23. The fire has burned over 15,000 acres and was only five percent contained as of Wednesday morning, the Denver Post reports.<\/p>\n

\tColorado has suffered several major fires already this year.<\/p>\n

\tSchlott explained that he first responders to the Colorado Springs fire are the Red Cross, which is setting up shelters, and the Salvation Army, which is providing evacuees with meals. At the request of the Salvation Army, the Colorado Springs Catholic Charities affiliate is helping to prepare and deliver several hundred meals per day.<\/p>\n

\tThe Catholic agency is supplying food to three shelters in Colorado Springs and one near the town of Divide. Road closures mean Divide is now a 2.5-hour drive from the city.<\/p>\n

\tSchlortt said June 27 that the situation is \u201cvery fluid.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\u201cThis fire is progressing and putting people out of their neighborhoods on an hourly basis.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tJoe Mahoney, executive director of Catholic Charities of Southern Colorado, said his Pueblo-based agency is collecting money to support the Colorado Springs affiliate\u2019s operations.<\/p>\n

\tMahoney, a former disaster response officer for Catholic Charities USA, told CNA he is heading to Colorado Springs to provide assistance in person.<\/p>\n

\tSchlortt said that every relief agency in Colorado Springs is responding. Many people are donating funds, volunteering and taking others into their homes.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cThe entire community is just opening their hearts,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\tCatholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Denver has offered financial and staff assistance to its Colorado Springs counterpart to respond to the fires.<\/p>\n

\tThe Waldo Canyon Fire forced the cancellation of Sunday Mass at two parishes, the Colorado Catholic Herald reports. The novitiate for the Order of the Holy Cross in Cascade was evacuated, as was Mount St. Francis Nursing Home. Activities at St. Francis of Assisi Parish have been cancelled on orders of the fire department.<\/p>\n

\tBishop Michael Sheridan of Colorado Springs offered prayers for those affected by the fire.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cWe also pray for the firefighters and volunteers who are working hard to contain the wildfire and serve the needs of those affected,\u201d he said June 26. \u201cWe are grateful for your courage, generosity and sacrifice, and we are heartened to see communities rallying together during this trying time.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tThe bishop will lead a Holy Hour of prayer for fire victims and first responders on June 28 at 7 p.m. at downtown Colorado Springs\u2019 St. Mary Cathedral.<\/p>\n

\tBishop James D. Conley, apostolic administrator of the Archdiocese of Denver, has called for prayer and charitable assistance to the victims of the multiple fires in Colorado.<\/p>\n

\tSchlortt also asked for prayers, saying \u201cWe need all the prayers we can get.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tVictims of other Colorado fires remain in need.<\/p>\n

\tCatholic Charities of Denver is continuing to help evacuees of the High Park Fire in Larimer County in the mountains of northern Colorado. That fire, the second-largest in state history, began in a June 9 lightning strike. It burned over 87,000 acres and over 250 homes and is still only 65 percent contained. A 62-year-old woman died in the blaze, the Denver Post reports.
\n\t\u00a0
\n\tLast week, the Denver charity received emergency assistance grants totaling $20,000 from Catholic Charities USA and from United Way of Larimer County. It has also contributed $10,000 of its own funds to provide food, clothing, hotel accommodations and other personal items to the victims.<\/p>\n

\tIt is distributing aid in cooperation with the Red Cross and United Way. It is continuing to monitor the new fire in Boulder County, which is burning 230 acres and has prompted pre-evacuation warnings to over 2,000 phone numbers.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cShould the need arise for more extensive relief assistance, Catholic Charities is prepared to respond quickly and effectively to those needs,\u201d the Denver agency said June 27.<\/p>\n

\tDonations to support victims of the Colorado Springs fires may be made through the Catholic Charities of Central Colorado website http:\/\/ccharitiescc.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\tAdditional donations to support victims of the High Park and Boulder fires may be made through the Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Denver website at http:\/\/www.ccdenver.org.<\/a>
\n\t\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n<\/a>\n<\/div>\n

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Colorado Springs, Colo., Jun 27, 2012 \/ 05:08 pm (CNA\/EWTN News).- Both evacuees and residents of the Colorado Springs area are in “utter shock and disbelief” at the major fire threatening the outskirts of the city, a local Catholic Chariti…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1031,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-416","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-us"],"yoast_head":"\nCatholic Charities mobilizes against growing Colorado fires<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Colorado Springs, Colo., Jun 27, 2012 \/ 05:08 pm (CNA\/EWTN News).- Both evacuees and residents of the Colorado Springs area are in “utter shock and disbelief” at the major fire threatening the outskirts of the city, a local Catholic Chariti...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, 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