About Us

On December 30, 2021, the Marshall fire swept through our Colorado community forcing the evacuation of 37,500 people and destroying more than 991 structures. Luckily, I had taken the time to create binders containing our family's essential documents.  

Our family was at lunch when we received notice that we had 45 minutes to collect what we needed and evacuate the neighborhood. It took us 20 minutes to get home, and we barely had any time to figure out what to take before the police were pounding on our door telling us we had to leave.

Thanks to the fact that I had created my binders, it only took us minutes to grab our critical documents. The hard part was deciding what else we couldn't live without in the event our house was gone when we got back.

Many people who evacuated didn't take anything because they thought, "We'll be back in a few hours. There's no way a fire could take this neighborhood." It's so easy to think, "This could never happen to me."

We got lucky. Our house was still standing when we returned, but most of the homes that were destroyed looked like they had completely vaporized. Row after row of streets were left with flat, empty lots full of black ash, and maybe the burnt metal frame of a car that was left behind.

I can't imagine trying to recover from such a loss, especially when you don't have access to any of your documentation... and that's what inspired me to create GoBinders.

~Donna Tellam, Founder

Photo: Hart Van Denburg /
Colorado Public Radio, AP Pool