Patti Halderman expected this fall to be a busy time for her and the staff at the Bellvue Post Office northwest of Fort Collins. With the election approaching and holidays just around the corner, Halderman, the town鈥檚 postmaster, made plans to work overtime.
Then came the fire.
On Sept. 20, the Cameron Peak wildfire burning in western Larimer County exploded in size due to warm, dry weather and winds. In response, the sheriff鈥檚 department ordered thousands of residents to evacuate. The U.S. Postal Service abruptly cancelled the area鈥檚 deliveries.
That meant Amazon packages, election ballots, medications, bills, magazine subscriptions and thousands of other pieces of mail had no way of reaching people who were displaced. Bellvue, due to its proximity to evacuated communities, was chosen as their temporary pick up site.
Now, after delivering mail to the town鈥檚 roughly 1,200 residents, the office鈥檚 team of 8 spends afternoons picking through multiple carts full of evacuee mail brought in on trucks from the postal service鈥檚 processing facility in Denver. Clerks sort letters and packages alphabetically in the building鈥檚 cramped back room.
鈥淎ll the employees working here, they鈥檙e doing such a good job,鈥� Halderman said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 been challenging.鈥�
Reinforcements have arrived over the past few weeks. Several clerks from the post offices closest to the Cameron Peak burn area have transferred to help process evacuee mail. Some of them are themselves displaced.
Ross Reed, a clerk from Red Feather Lakes, has been living in a nearby hotel with his mother for nearly 3 weeks.
鈥淚t鈥檚 hard on my mom. She鈥檚 94 and confused about the situation,鈥� Reed said. 鈥淎nd so that makes it hard for me.鈥�
When he comes into work, Reed sorts through his evacuated neighbors鈥� mail and wonders whether his home is still safe. Every night, he cooks in the small kitchen at the hotel and watches updates from the fire鈥檚 response team on social media.
鈥淓very time you watch, you wonder,鈥� he said. 鈥淵ou just keep hoping that the wind blows in the right direction.鈥�
There鈥檚 no exact count of how many people remain displaced due to the Cameron Peak Fire, and more recently the even larger Mullen Fire further north. The Larimer County Sheriff鈥檚 Office says it鈥檚 likely in the thousands. The Red Cross says it鈥檚 paying for nearly 700 evacuees to stay in local hotels across Northern Colorado.
Meanwhile the fire remains active. As of Thursday, October 8, the Cameron Peak fire was more than 128,000 acres in size. Containment was at 42%.
In the Bellvue Post Office鈥檚 lobby, evacuees lined up out the door. Each held their driver鈥檚 license and a small piece of paper with their name and address written on it -- their ticket to picking up mail.
Reid Miller also carried a stack of envelopes and magazines. He planned to forward them to his colleagues at the Shambhala Mountain Center.
In late September, the fire burned through the Buddhist retreat center, destroying at least a dozen structures, according to a recent tally. Miller had started his job in human resources at Shambhala just two weeks before evacuating.
Now he鈥檚 staying with a local host family as the retreat center figures out a plan to rebuild, he said.
鈥淛ust a huge thanks to the firefighters,鈥� Miller said. 鈥淲e could have lost a lot more. I鈥檝e watched them work their asses off to protect our Stupa and Temple and it鈥檚 just been really cool to see the community come together.鈥�
After a morning of sorting mail, Postmaster Patti Halderman stepped outside for a short break. She watched helicopters carrying water buzz over the building on their way to aid firefighters on the ground more than 30 miles away.
The normal thick haze and accompanying campfire smell had cleared for a few hours. It was the first time in days that she鈥檚 seen blue skies.
鈥淭here鈥檚 no smoke,鈥� Halderman said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 so deceptively nice, isn鈥檛 it?鈥�
The Bellvue Post Office has found ways to stay open through other disasters and uncertain times in the past, she said, including the High Park Fire in 2012 and the 2013 floods.
鈥淲e鈥檙e going to be fine,鈥� Halderman said. 鈥淚鈥檓 not worried about anything. We have Christmas coming up too so we鈥檙e ready for a busy time.鈥�
Halderman鈥檚 team is preparing to process evacuee mail through the rest of the month if needed as crews work to fully contain the fire, which started burning almost two months ago on August 13. And even with the election and mail-in ballot delivery just around the corner, she said her team can handle the added stress.
