Help Kristiana DeRolf rebuild her home

At 11:30AM on December 30th, Kristiana had decided to take her work lunch an hour earlier so that she could go home to let out Rascal, the family dog. She works nearby in Louisville, in the health field as a sonographer. It felt like a typical day, until she walked outside the medical center and smelled smoke and felt the gusty wind. As she drove across McCaslin Blvd towards her neighborhood, the smoke smell became stronger and she knew in her heart that something was off. As she turned into her neighborhood, all she could think of was her elderly neighbors that lived across the street from her. She had to stop at their house first to make sure they were OK. When no one came to the door, she phoned them and was relieved to find out that they were at the grocery store. She told them to stay there and that it wasn't safe to come home. She quickly ran inside her home to grab a few essentials: Rascal the dog, his food, her family's passports/birth certificates and a few photos of her deceased parents in Latvia. At this time, she saw flames in her back yard. She grabbed the bowl on her kitchen counter where she keeps her monthly bills and left. As she was driving out of her neighborhood, it was now even darker with smoke and her car was being pushed by the wind. She heard someone hitting the back window of her SUV. It was a neighbor who was asking for a ride. They drove out of the smoke, and saw trees on fire and homes burning, she didn’t know if she would make it out alive. With the same inclination that made her initially leave work earlier that day brought them both to her eldest son, Paul's work. And ironically, where the neighbor met up with his wife and kids.

Today, she received a picture of her home. Everything is gone, even the new car that she recently bought for her son. However, the one thing that remained was a sculpture she received from the previous homeowners and is named "Circle of Friends". It has always been on her front porch - 3 friends with arms supporting each other in a circle.

The aftermath of the Superior Fire is tremendous, scary and pulls emotions that hits our guts. Recovering from a total loss from a fire is a big event and the daily process of putting the pieces back together are even bigger. Even though, you may not know Kristiana personally, I hope you may consider donating to her home rebuilding fund. I want her to feel that she won't be alone in this journey but instead is surrounded by a strong Circle of Friends.

Thank you so much for your donation.

Sincerely,

Ivete Liliensteins

Per GoFundme requirements, I am required to explain the following:

I met Kristiana 14 years ago when I was working at a Bank in Boulder. I immediately connected to her when I realized that she was from Latvia. My family is also from the tiny country in the Baltics. I now live in Breckenridge and am trying to assist remotely, the best that I can.

Your Donation will assist with the rebuild costs of her home for the shortfall between insurance and her out of pocket expense.