Colorado fire hits home for Imperial firefighter

    After Mark Bomba first started hearing of the Dec. 30 fires threatening Superior, Lafayette and Louisville, Colorado, he knew in his gut it wasn’t good.
    The wind was coming up and he knows how much dry grass and pasture lie near those towns.
    The Imperial Volunteer Fire Department member served as a volunteer firefighter in Lafayette for seven years, and has a lot of friends still living in those communities as well as firefighters on the Lafayette department.
    His concerns were valid.
    After the fire swept through that area, more than 1,000 homes and numerous businesses were burned to the ground.
    Bomba, who moved to Imperial in 2018, knows several who lost homes, including one of the groomsmen in his and wife Katie’s wedding, Steve Bednar, a fourth generation Superior resident. Five others in Bednar’s family also lost homes.

    His best man serves as volunteer chief for the Louisville Fire Department.
    “It just tears me up with what Steve and his family are going through,” Bomba said.
    The hospital where the Bombas’ son James was born had to be evacuated and suffered severe smoke damage
    He estimated about two dozen homes he’s painted were among the 1,000-plus that are just smoldering foundations now.
    The first reports came in about 10 a.m. Dec. 30 when two brush fires were reported near Highway 93 and Marshall Road in Boulder County.
    With hurricane force winds, some peaking at more than 100 mph, it was out of control quickly and was moving toward the communities Bomba once called home.
    He explained that all three towns are close together and, when Bomba was a high schooler, all of them sent their students to Centaurus High School in Lafayette, from which he graduated in 1997. A second school, Monarch High School in Louisville, now also serves area students.
    Once the fire’s severity was realized, Bomba said he spent 7-8 hours that day glued to the TV, Facebook and the Broadcastify app.
    “I heard my brother on the radio and that’s when I lost it. I was in tears,” he said.    
    His brother is a sergeant in the Lafayette Police Department and was actually on vacation that week. Bomba said all of the family, including his, was supposed to be in the mountains for a new year’s get-together.
    That was cancelled due to threatening weather, he said.
    His brother was called in to work and was helping evacuate residents when Bomba heard his voice via the Broadcastify app.
    “I heard him say the fire was 200 feet from his location and there were no firefighters in the area,” he said.
    “I could hear the anxiety in his voice.”
    As he listened, Bomba said the firefighters were forced to shift all of their efforts to evacuations and entrapments, as house after house burned.
    It took a week after the fire for Bomba to talk by phone with his friend, Bednar. That was due to four cell towers lost in the fire.
    He continues to hear of other friends and high school classmates who’ve lost everything they had.
    Bomba joined the IVFD in 2018, not long after moving here. After initially working for Titan Machinery, he returned to residential and commercial painting, now operating Bomba Painting.
    In addition to his years with the Lafayette fire department, he also was a volunteer firefighter with the Johnstown, Colorado department and worked in fire security for Lockheed Martin.
    A lot of people here have reached out wondering how they can help.
    Bomba said his friends and acquaintances there say the biggest need right now is cash donations or gift cards.
    His advice is if someone wants to donate to do it with a reputable organization such as the Red Cross.
    Many from those communities have started Go Fund Me pages, including his groomsman friend, Bednar and his extended family.
    According to the Colorado Responds website, volunteers are also a big need. Those interested can go to louisville fire.com for a list of volunteer opportunities and other information.