TERRE HAUTE —
Lorna Taken Gutierrez and her family live in a home with “an amazing mountain view” in Colorado Springs.
But on Tuesday, the view from her home turned Armageddon-like as she saw a wildfire racing down a bluff and taking everything — including beautiful homes — in its path.
“It was a horrible thing,” said Gutierrez, a former Terre Haute and Clay County resident. “It was a tsunami of fire.”
And, the inferno was coming toward the Gutierrez home, located in Pinon Valley in the northwest part of the city — close to the devastated Mountain Shadows neighborhood.
The family had about five minutes to pack and leave — Lorna, her husband Dimas, three children and Lorna’s mother-in-law, who was visiting from Venezuela. They also took their dog.
As of Wednesday afternoon, they were en route to Clay County to be with family. Gutierrez didn’t know if their Colorado Springs home had been spared — or destroyed. “We’ve had conflicting reports,” she said Wednesday afternoon. “No one can get there.”
There was also the possibility that her husband’s place of employment had burned. He is a software engineer.
“My heart is broken,” Gutierrez wrote on her Facebook page. They have lived in Colorado Springs for about seven years.
“I’ve alternated between tears and relief that we are out” and safe, she said in a telephone interview Wednesday. “I’m crying for everyone who has lost everything and praying that no one has lost their life.”
Before the family left Colorado Springs, they went to the east side of town to eat. As they looked toward the west and the area they had just fled, “Fire was everywhere and smoke and ash,” she said. They could see the fire spread and “these gorgeous houses being wiped out.”
The family lives on the outskirts of Colorado Springs, with Garden of the Gods to the south and the U.S. Air Force Academy to the north.
One reason they decided to leave was because the “air quality is terrible” — the result of all the smoke. They were concerned about the health of the family, which includes two young children, Adriana, age 4 and Eli, 21 months. Eli had respiratory problems when he was younger.
Gutierrez’ husband left work early Tuesday. “He could feel the wind picking up and he had a feeling we would have to evacuate,” she said. On Tuesday, wind gusts reached 65 mph, causing the fires to rage out of control.
For now, the future for the Gutierrez family is somewhat uncertain. “I don’t know what we will do. I don’t know if we can go back or if we have a place to go back to,” she said. They were in the process of selling their home and purchasing a new one in the same area.
If necessary, her husband could transfer out-of-state.
But they really like Colorado Springs and hope to return. “It is a beautiful city,” said Gutierrez, a former Tribune-Star reporter and Indiana State University student.
Gutierrez has maintained close contact with her mother, Becky Taken, of Brazil. “It’s been a nightmare,” said Taken, who eagerly awaited her family’s safe arrival.
The Gutierrez’ house is about six miles east of Waldo Canyon, where one official on Tuesday night described the wildfire as “a firestorm of epic proportions,” according to one media report.
The Waldo Canyon fire had forced more than 32,000 people out of their homes and destroyed an unknown number of structures. By Wednesday, the fire had grown to more than 15,000 acres.
President Barack Obama is expected to visit the devastated city Friday.
Sue Loughlin can be reached at (812) 231-4235 or sue.loughlin@tribstar.com.
Local & Bistate
Related Videos
Related Photos
-
This photo by Lorna Gutierrez was taken as she fled the wildfires bearing down on her Colorado home.
Discussion
VIDEO: ‘A firestorm of epic proportions’
Ex-Valley resident driven from home by wildfire
- Local & Bistate
-
-
Vigo County Jail Log: May 21, 2013
The following individuals were booked into the Vigo County Jail by area law enforcement on Monday and Tuesday, based on jail records.
-
UPDATE: Damage surveys show 2 weak tornadoes hit near Indy
INDIANAPOLIS — The National Weather Service says storm surveys show two weak tornadoes struck central Indiana.
-
Storm causes scattered Indiana power outages
INDIANAPOLIS — A line of thunderstorms that moved across Indiana caused scattered building damage and power outages for several thousand homes and businesses.
-
Kindergartner diagnosed with MD treated to a day with the fire department
“He’ll just never forget this day,” Stacey Manley said, a little bit tearfully, as she watched her smiling 6-year-old son Carter sitting happily in the captain’s seat of Fire Engine 2.
-
Casey, Illinois aims for another world record
The town of Casey, Ill., may soon weave its way into the record books as the small town with the most world records. After setting records for the world’s largest wind chimes and the world’s largest golf tee, Casey is now looking to become home to the world’s largest knitting needles and crochet hook.
-
Rose-Hulman projects will promote growth, learning for people with physical challenges
Life changed dramatically for college engineering student Drew Christy on Feb. 22, 2008 when he was involved in an auto accident and suffered a traumatic brain injury.
-
‘500’ gas stations being sold to Speedway LLC
After several decades in business, the area’s familiar “500” gasoline stations and convenience stores will soon be missing from the roadsides of Vigo and Sullivan counties.
-
Terre Haute woman faces 14 charges
A Terre Haute woman faces 14 criminal counts after her arrest Friday on drug-related charges.
-
Two adults injured in ATV accident
Two adults were injured Sunday evening while riding an all-terrain vehicle near Lexington Farms Subdivision off Moyer Drive in southern Vigo County.
-
Vigo schools’ medical claims down 4 percent
The Vigo County School Corp.’s medical claims were about $13 million over the last 12 months, down 4 percent from the prior year, said Diane Titchenell, an Anthem account manager that works with the school district.
-
2013 Government Directory now available
The 2013 Government Directory is now available.
-
UPDATE: 5 killed, 6 injured in I-70 van crash in Illinois
ST. LOUIS — A van carrying church members returning from a California gathering careened off of a southern Illinois freeway and overturned several times today, killing five people and sending six others to hospitals, authorities said.
-
2 children reported dead from Indianapolis fire
INDIANAPOLIS — Authorities say some autistic children lived in the Indianapolis condominium unit where a fire has killed two children.
-
Tighter Indiana drunken driving law seems unlikely
INDIANAPOLIS — Some key Indiana legislators say it’s unlikely that the state will any time soon go along with a federal safety board’s recommendation that the threshold for drunken driving be cut nearly in half.
-
Vigo County Jail Log: May 20, 2013
The following individuals were booked into the Vigo County Jail by area law enforcement on Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday, based on jail records.
-
Life-Size Ping Pong: Valley pickleball tourney draws large crowd to Brittlebank Park
It’s been described as “ping pong on steroids.”
Some people call it “life-size ping pong where you stand on the table.” -
Boat trip aims to raise awareness about Lewy Body Dementia
In 2013, the Year of the River, it makes sense to link a grand adventure on the Wabash River with a good cause.
-
Legislature had little taste for alcohol bills
When it comes to alcohol, the 2013 legislative session may be marked more by what it didn’t do to boost booze sales than what it did.
-
STATE OF THE STATEHOUSE: Is it regulation that doesn’t make sense or evening the playing field?
I’m not much of a drinker, so I haven’t spent much time thinking about how Indiana’s alcohol laws personally impact me, but that changed last fall when my daughter got married.
-
RESTAURANT INSPECTIONS: April 29-May 3
The Vigo County Health Department inspected the following food establishments April 29-May 3:
-
For Piper: Annual ‘Rush the Punter’ event dedicated to Dixie Bee student who died Wednesday after a short illness
Steve Weatherford’s “Rush the Punter” fundraiser at Fairbanks Park on Saturday was dedicated to a little girl who lost her life unexpectedly to pneumonia.
-
Vigo schools prepare to tighten belts
State funding for the Vigo County School Corp. will remain “pretty flat” for the next two years, said Donna Wilson, chief financial officer.
-
Veterans take to the trees
Cristal Bednar took photos of her husband, Justin, as he laboriously climbed his way up a “Dangle-Duo” to get to a zipline at Indiana State University’s Sycamore Outdoor Center.
-
Property owner seeks halt to Hulman Lake dam project
A Terre Haute property owner is seeking an injunction that would at least temporarily halt the city’s work on the Hulman Lake dam project.
-
Tornado veterans balance preparedness, practicality
Few things in nature are less predictable than a tornado. They can form quickly. They strike weirdly, leveling one building while leaving its neighbor untouched. They can fling a car a half-mile and turn a piece of lumber into a wall-piercing missile.
-
ISU unveils interactive Bayh Family Legacy Wall at school
A who’s who of Indiana Democrats paid tribute to Evan Bayh and several generations of the Bayh family Friday during a dedication of a new interactive display at Indiana State University.
-
Can you smell me now?
A contraband cell phone has been discovered by the Vigo County Jail’s youngest and most unique officer.
-
GIVING BACK: Steve Weatherford buys shoes for kids day before charity run
Terre Haute’s Steve Weatherford, punter for the 2012 Super Bowl champion New York Giants, showed once again his generosity Friday by donating new athletic shoes to more than two dozen Vigo County kids.
-
N.Y. Giants honor Weatherford as ‘Man of the Year’
Dan Tanoos, superintendent of Vigo County schools, remembers the first time he saw Steve Weatherford as a freshman at Terre Haute North Vigo High School.
-
Sunday recital at The Woods
A recital featuring songs from well-known composers is at 7 p.m. Sunday in the Church of the Immaculate Conception at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods.
- More Local & Bistate Headlines
-
Vigo County Jail Log: May 21, 2013
Raw: Massive Funnel Clouds in Oklahoma
Raw: Widespread Destruction in Moore, Okla.
Raw: Aerials Show Path of Oklahoma Destruction
Raw: Rescue Workers Search Oklahoma School
Active Search for Utah Missing Mom Ends
Raw: Aftermath of Massive Tornado in Oklahoma
Raw: Tornado on the Ground in Oklahoma
Raw: Japan's WWII Atrocities Under Fire in Seoul
Huge Tornado Kills Dozens Near Oklahoma City
Raw: Tearful Reunion After Okla. Tornado
Voters Could Elect LA's First Female Mayor
Raw: Aussie Zoo Shows Off White Rhino Calf
Obama Pledges Urgent Aid for Tornado Victims
Raw: Rescuers Pull Tornado Survivors to Safety
AP Photograher: 'It Was a Miracle' They Got Out
Raw: Crews Search for Survivors of Okla. Tornado
OKC Hospital Describes Treating Tornado Wounded
Horse Saved From Slaughter, Goes on to Win Big
MLB Hoping for Large Replay Expansion in 2014
Moore, Okla. City of Reunions, Tears After Storm
VIRAL: Baby makes epic soccer goal
Olivia Munn Flaunts Her Bikini Bod
Britney Spears Under Fire Once Again For Being A Bad Mom
The Hangover Baby All Grown Up
Arias Tells Jury What She'd Do if She Gets Life
The all-new Xbox One
RAW: Massive tornado strikes Oklahoma
Nidal Hasan paid $278K while awaiting trial
VIDEO: Teacher reunites mother and son after tornado levels elementary school in Oklahoma City
Okla. tornado survivor finds dog buried alive under rubble
Jennifer Lawrence Gets Naked and Painted Blue as X-Men's Mystique
Pickler's Dance Moves Cause A Stir
Obama to tornado survivors: The country stands beside you
Reporter Cries Over Devastation
Sneak Peek: 'Modern Family' Says Good Bye
Trailer: 'The Last Stand' Available on Blu-ray Disc, DVD, Digital Download
IWitness Look at Moore, OK Tornado
RAW: Moore, OK tornado touches down near school
Robert Pattinson Moves Out
RAW: Russian dash cam catches car 20 feet in the air
