Community rallying to help Dotsero fire victims

DOTSERO — Two local families lost everything in Tuesday’s fires, and local organizations are scrambling to help.

Gypsum Creek Middle School’s parent teacher organization is spearheading efforts to get the families back on their feet. Children from both families attended Gypsum Creek Middle School.

“We are encouraging the GCMS community to donate gift cards so the families can pick up essential items, rather than receive donations that they don’t have anywhere to put,” said Samantha Gale, president of Gypsum Creek’s PTO.

Gypsum Creek’s front office staff is already accepting donations, Gale said.

One of the families also lost all their vehicles.

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One of the families is staying with relatives in the neighborhood, but both will need to find housing.

“Anything our school community can do will be appreciated by these two families,” Gale said.

No one was injured when the fire leveled the two mobile homes in the Dotsero mobile home park.

A woman and her grandson had been out for a walk for about half an hour when a neighbor spotted smoke roiling from under their mobile home and called 911.

The fires jumped from the home where they started and spread to the home directly to the east, pushed by winds from the southwest gusting up to 20 mph.

Firefighters contained the fire to those two homes. The Dotsero park is home to 70 mobile homes.

The plume of smoke was visible from Gypsum, five miles away.

Residents were evacuated from their homes, not being allowed back in until Tuesday evening.