Colorado nonprofit sets up mobile laundromat after destructive fire in Nederland

For the first time since the fire that burned down the main shopping area in Nederland, resident Bruce Vallender of Rollinsville was able to do his laundry.

"The day of the fire I drove over in the morning not knowing the fire was going on, to go to the laundromat in the shopping center, and it was burned to the ground," Vallender explained to CBS Colorado. 

Without the laundromat, many people in Nederland and the surrounding mountain communities have had to make quite a trip to wash their clothes. 

"I'd have to go down to either Boulder or Golden, which is a 50-mile round trip," Vallender said.

But that drive has been eliminated thanks to Colorado Baptist Disaster Relief. On Tuesday, it set up its mobile laundry trailer near the Nederland Fire Department. That way residents and first responders can drop their dirty laundry off, and a team of volunteers will wash, dry and fold them.

Bob Cale is running the operation in Nederland. He says he's been taking the trailer to disaster sites since 2008, and both first responders and community members say a freshly laundered wardrobe really lifts their spirits.

"When they were able to get some clean clothes on, it's great," Cale told CBS Colorado.

Cale says, while the work is long and challenging, it's something he and his fellow volunteers wouldn't change for the world.

"It's truly a blessing being able to help people," Cale said.

If you want to help Colorado Baptist Relief's efforts, you can make a donation, whether that's laundry supplies or a monetary donation. 

The mobile laundry trailer plans to stay in Nederland as long as it can to help residents who might need their services. Bruce Vallender said it's a huge help.

"There are a lot of people with no running water and definitely don't have washers and dryers like myself," Vallender said. So it's just a great thing to have."