Recounting memories of six generations of family working and playing at their 135-year-old Poudre Canyon property brought Sue Schneider to tears.
There were family gatherings, from meals to weekend getaways, and public historic home tours of the Pinehurst property. And those times made all the sweat of upkeep and fire mitigation on the 110 acres tucked along Norman Fry Road and unseen from Colorado Highway 14 in the upper Poudre Canyon worth it.
Then in a flash Monday, the Cameron Peak Fire consumed the house and outbuildings dating to 1885, leaving the Schneiders with only valuable belongings previously retrieved from the house, including a guest book dating to 1918, and memories burnt into the family's minds.
“On a scale of 1 to 10, I would say it’s a 10," said Sue, who lives in Loveland with her husband, Rick Schneider. "There are just so many memories for six generations of our family and our friends and it touched so many other lives in so many ways. To have it all gone is devastating.''
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The loss has not been confirmed by the Larimer County Sheriff's Office and fire management team. Sue, who has received photos of the property from after the fire, said friends who are volunteer firefighters confirmed the fire burned everything.
Sheriff's office spokesperson David Moore said some structure damage has occurred in the Monument Gulch and Rustic areas along Colorado 14, but the extent is not known. He said downed power lines and other dangerous conditions have slowed structure damage assessment.
A damage assessment team will work the Colorado 14 and Monument Gulch area this week to visit structures, Moore said.
Sue said a photo posted on Larirmer County Sheriff's Office Facebook page Monday from nearby Archer's Poudre River Resort showed flames across the Norman Fry bridge over the Poudre River on their property.
"We saw that picture and it was like a punch in the gut,'' said Sue, who is part of the Abbott Family Trust of Pinehurst that owns the property. "The house is just around the corner and we thought then that it would be gone. I was pretty upset finding out about it on Facebook.''
Moore said when the photo was taken they had not been informed of any structures damaged. He said the photo did not include a home and was used to keep the public up to date about the fire.
"Our intent was not to create anybody anguish,'' Moore said. "We are very sorry that the photo upset people and we apologize for the anguish it caused.''
The property was originally homesteaded by John D. Cooper in 1885. Later Norman Fry, who at 17 came to the Poudre Canyon in 1889, lived at Pinehurst and eventually homesteaded a nearby property to the west of Pinehust called Twin Pines, according to Sue. She said the Pinehurst property has been in the family since Sue's great-great uncle, A.W. Scott, bought the property in 1893.
It is unknown if the Twin Pines home, which is owned by another family, survived the fire, Sue said.
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Sue said the last time she and Rick saw their property was Saturday, when they retrieved belongings Sue's four sisters wanted just in case. She said the couple lived in the home during the High Park Fire while they were building their home in Loveland after moving there from Grand Junction to be closer to Pinehurst.
"We were sitting at the dining room table built by Norman Fry and I told my husband somewhat flippantly that I hoped we aren't the last ones to sit at this table,'' said Sue, who added there has been an outpouring of comfort from friends and family. "You always know it (fire) could happen, but you never think it will happen to you. I'm thankful that we worked on fire mitigation the last eight years up there, but it just goes to show you can only do so much.''
She said the property belongs to a family trust but is sure the members will elect to rebuild on the site.
"I haven't been able to talk about it without crying,'' Sue said. "It's just hard to imagine that everything is gone.''
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Reporter Miles Blumhardt looks for stories that impact your life. Be it news, outdoors, sports — you name it, he wants to report it. Have a story idea? Contact him at milesblumhardt@coloradoan.com or on Twitter @MilesBlumhardt. Support his work and that of other Coloradoan journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today.
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