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Rock Creek family shows loved one destroyed home for first time since Marshall Fire's destruction

Denver7 Gives viewers vow to pay for destroyed volleyball gear
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Posted at 11:03 PM, Jan 12, 2022
and last updated 2022-01-13 01:03:25-05

SUPERIOR, Colo. — Years worth of memories under one roof will only be apparent in their thoughts.

What was tangible for the Quilantang family has been reduced to ashes and rubble.

"Do you want to go see where your room was?" Liz Quilantang-Huyg asked her sister, Lena, who saw the destruction caused by the Marshall Fire for the first time Wednesday.

More than 1,000 structures were destroyed in the fire, including many homes in the family's Rock Creek neighborhood on Dec 30.

The last time Lena saw her home, it was still standing.

"It's just painful because the memories, the sentimental things that you can't replace..." Lena Quilantang said.

Quilantang-Huyg, her husband and their two teenage children have lived in that neighborhood for 12 years.

"We built a home. They were getting ready for the kids to go to college. We were planning, and then this happens. We literally have zero," Quilantang-Huyg said.

They only had a matter of minutes to evacuate as 100 mph winds fueled the Marshall Fire, moving football field in lengths within a matter of seconds.

There was no time to take their family's history with them.

"The things that I didn't take were my mom's pictures, my dad's valuables," Quilantang said through tears. "That's something I can't replace."

Among the items lost were the sisters' sports medals that they won throughout their childhood. It was a huge part of their lives — being on a team represented, in part, who they were as a family.

It's why they started their own volleyball club, a sport that has meant so much to them throughout the years.

"Our volleyball family. We don't want this personal tragedy to affect our club, but we lost everything," Quilantang-Huyg said.

Tens of thousands of dollars worth of volleyball gear, including equipment and uniforms for a club of about 60 players were all lost in the fire.

"Our volleyball stuff was right there, and it was all brand new, ready to be distributed the next day," Quilantang said.

A GoFundMe page was started in hopes to raise money to replace some of the equipment, but our Denver7 Gives viewers were aware that this family has bigger things to worry about as they have no place to call home and no idea what their next move is.

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Click here to go directly to the Denver7 Gives donation form then choose a campaign

That's why they have donated money to cover all the costs of volleyball equipment and uniforms that were lost in the fire.

"We just want to say thank you to the community," Quilantang-Huyg said.

Denver7 features the stories of people who need help and now you can help them with a cash donation through Denver7 Gives. One hundred percent of contributions to the fund will be used to help people in our local community.