Colorado Assistant Football Coach Loses Home, Possessions in Wildfires

Buffaloes inside linebackers coach Mark Smith tweeted Thursday that he lost his home in the Colorado wildfires.

Colorado inside linebackers coach Mark Smith tweeted Thursday night that he lost his home and "every material possession" in the wildfires in Boulder County outside Denver.

”Just got word that every material possession we had today is now gone,” Smith said tweeted Thursday night. ”Our home, cars, and everything we had in our home lost to the fires that ripped through our community. Thank you to those who reached out. Processing how to completely start over and grateful for our health.”

Just got word that every material possession we had today is now gone. Our home, cars, and everything we had in our home lost to the fires that ripped through our community. Thank you to those who reached out. Processing how to completely start over and grateful for our health.

— Mark Smith (@coachmarksmith) December 31, 2021

Smith recently finished his first season with the Buffaloes under Colorado head coach Karl Dorrell. Prior to Colorado, Smith served as the defensive backs coach for Arkansas before becoming the defensive coordinator at Long Island University in July '20.  

According to the Associated Press, as of Friday, tens of thousands of Coloradans from nearly 580 homes have been driven from their neighborhoods due to the wind-whipped wildfires. The flames have also burned a hotel and a shopping center.

Citizens in the towns of Louisville and Superior—located between Denver and Boulder—were ordered to evacuate ahead of the fires. The University of Colorado is located in Boulder.

Ninety percent of Boulder County is in severe or extreme drought, and it hasn’t seen substantial rainfall since mid-summer, according to the AP.