A Wildfire Sheds Light: Advice from Marshall Fire Survivors

This is the final installment of a multi-part series that explores the ongoing impacts of the Marshall Fire through interviews with survivors and analysis of the role of climate change and alternatives to recovery such as mutual aid.

Photo by Skinner Myers

Mutual Aid Is the Way Forward

“Because of global warming, this is going to keep happening. And it’s going to happen in our cities,” Marshall survivor Fallon Voorheis-Mathews states. Henry Wong, also a survivor of the fire, points out that no matter where, “we have to accept that we’re living with risk.” What is more, under neoliberalism and surrounded by the many faces of capitalism, none of this is likely to change soon.

Fortunately, as Dean Spade argues, mutual aid “is something everyone can do right now.” Mutual aid offers a tool for building a sustainable future, and the sooner everyone starts helping to build this infrastructure, the better.

In our neoliberal era of diminished public resources such as safety nets, no one is secure. Yet, if our communities were stronger and healthier, there would be fewer disasters. According to several reports, the Marshall Fire may have started in part at the compound of the Twelve Tribes of Israel, a wealthy international high-pressure religious organization with property located near the mesa and open space at the intersection of CO 93 and Marshall Drive.

The group has a long history of racism, antisemitism, and sexism and of breaking laws related to child labor, child abuse, and much more — and of wriggling free from accountability time after time. As podcaster Katya Weiss-Anderson points out in her exposé on the Twelve Tribes, the group goes out of its way to “recruit people in vulnerable positions . . . They know how to manufacture an environment that feels warm, welcoming, and wholesome . . . especially for folks who are experiencing loneliness or trauma. That can be extremely alluring, but it is just a PR front.” All of this could be prevented by creating better communities, so that no one ever becomes so vulnerable that joining an exploitative group seems like a good idea. That makes everyone safer.

It shouldn’t take a catastrophe to provide an inkling of what humans living together could and should be like. I often wonder, will there be systems of mutual aid created in my neighborhood? Though I’m sure that it will be awkward and riddled with mistakes along the way, I choose to hope so.

What can mutual aid look like right now?

Most Marshall Fire survivors I spoke with were eager to share advice to help readers prepare in the event of a crisis, though one person cautioned me: “Actually, advice sucks, it’s empty, meaningless, because no one, literally no one, could ever imagine anything like this, so there is no way to ‘prepare.’” Certainly, only a person who has lost their home in an instant can know what that is like.

Ultimately, in the present sink-or-swim reality of neoliberal capitalism, many people in a disaster can only rely on individual or family resources, which are largely determined by social position — how can advice change that?

At the same time, everyone, even those who rarely consider the broad societal context, are always creating practical and caring connections with others, beyond the family and outside the jurisdiction of the government, sometimes at a distance from capitalist exchange. Even this article represents a collaboration among several interviewees and authors linked to, few of whom were previously acquainted and some of whom will never meet. I know we all hope it can help others, that it will in some way provide mutual aid.

In that spirit, I relay some advice from Marshall survivors. If you live in a disaster-prone area:

• Do not neglect your emergency go bag, and make sure it includes good-quality masks
• Learn about safety recommendations and practice your evacuation plans, in case it’s hard to focus during an emergency
• Map out alternate evacuation routes
• Don’t wait for an evacuation notice if it’s likely you might be in danger.
• Get the best insurance you can
• Pressure local governments to set up the best possible notification systems
• Upload copies of important photos and documents to cloud storage, and consider storing such physical items in a safe deposit box at a local institution
• Join your local social media groups
• Work on psychological self-care skills
• Don’t put yourself or loved ones at risk for material reasons

The last point may be the most important one. Experiences of the Marshall Fire varied greatly, but almost everyone emphasized the clarity they found regarding the relative unimportance of material possessions compared with the well-being of loved ones. After the fire, Henry Wong changed majors to pursue a career more conducive to a manageable workweek so that he can spend enough time with those who matter most to him: “People and animals that you love — sometimes we forget what’s truly important, so it’s a good reminder. It makes you see that the house, the cars . . . what you care about the most are the living things that you love.”

Survivors also shared that healing from the disaster requires connection, that it’s not an individual journey. Kathe Perez emphasizes that relationships have been key during the past year: “The process of healing from grief is long and unplanned. This is tough stuff. This is the work of spiritual warriors. This is the place where, when we are broken open, we take a deep breath and the hand of another and breathe deeply and look within. Together we can heal. Together we find hope again.” As Carole Billingham reminds us: “We’re in this together,” which means, among other things, “it’s not a sign of weakness to ask for help; it’s a sign of wisdom and strength,” and that healing cannot be accomplished alone.

Special thanks to Carole Billingham for introducing me to so many other survivors of the Marshall Fire. If you or someone you know are a Marshall survivor in need of mental health support, please see this list of crisis services.

To donate to support survivors in the long-term or to obtain assistance, visit the Boulder County Wildlife Fund and the Red Cross.