'Helpless, Scariest Thing': Woman Needs Help Rebuilding Animal Sanctuary
WELD COUNTY, Colo. (CBS4) - A woman whose animal rescue was damaged by a wildfire in Weld County now needs help rebuilding.
Maxine Mager owns Creative Acres in Hudson where the animals get to roam free.
Mager showed her love for her animals - listing them off as she points out swans in a kiddie pool.
"So, we have Merlin. In the pool we have Gwenevere and Arthur," she said.
On Friday, the fire department responded to her property.
"They said there's a fire coming, and I was just about to say 'Do whatever you want,' and all of a sudden none of us could see each other, and it was total smoke," Mager said.
She did what she could to protect her animals, and then she was separated from them for what seemed to her like an eternity while firefighters fought the flames.
"It was the most helpless, scariest thing," she said.
When Mager returned, she found, luckily, none of her animals were lost, but the farm wasn't unscathed. She lost two outbuildings, and her animals lost the freedom to roam.
"My fencing, my pastures are down," she said.
Plus, she lost supplies for upkeep and building materials for a new baby animal rescue she was planning to build.
"We lost a lot of material. I know it's going to be at least $10,000."
While the fire certainly hit her in the pocketbook, at the end of the day she feels lucky that she can continue to enjoy life with her loud and unconventional family.
"They were all running away from the firefighters, but it's like they could sense me. The minute I came out, it was crazy, they all ran to me, " said Mager, "It was really a pretty moment."
Mager says she could use some donations and some hands to help her put up fencing and clean up the mess.
LINK: Creative Acres Animal Sanctuary
Michael Abeyta is a 4th generation Coloradan and a Multimedia Journalist for CBS4. His stories can be seen on CBS4 News at 5 & 6. He is on Twitter! Follow him @AbeytaCBS4.