The halls of the Front Range Alliance Church were packed Friday night with people filling bags with bedsheets, toothpaste, clothes and more.

The occasion was a “garage sale give-away” to provide victims of the Waldo Canyon fire with free goods to replace what was lost.

Mandy Houk, a resident of Black Forest, came up with the idea for the give-away, but quickly realized that her home wasn’t the best place to hold it.

After a few phone calls, she was able to get access to the church’s rooms and hallways, which quickly filled with goods donated by individuals and organizations as diverse as Care and Share and Pikes Peak Writers.

The giveaway continues 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday in the church at 5210 Centennial Blvd. Attendees who can’t find what they need can fill out “wish lists” for those items, which Houk will use to put them in touch with people who are willing to donate.

Kristin Abernethy, who lived on Ashton Park Place, said that she’d come to the garage sale without a concrete idea of what she wanted to get.

“When you need everything…” Abernethy said, trailing off. “We’re at ground zero. We’re just trying not to accrue too much because there’s another move on the horizon.”

She browsed for kitchen supplies, explaining that she loves to cook and wants to start doing so again.

Others came in with needs in mind, but ended up finding unexpected goodies stacked on the tables.

“Mango margaritas, baby!” Cheryl Dingwell-Keckritz called out, holding up margarita glasses for her neighbors to see. “Which color?”

Dingwell-Keckritz lived on Majestic Drive in Parkside before her home was destroyed. Dealing with the upheaval has been difficult, but she’s taking it gradually.

“I just go day by day and accomplish things that need to get done, like insurance. Then, yesterday, sifting; today, getting clothes,” Dingwell-Keckritz said.

The garage sale was an opportunity to begin replacing what the fire took. It was, she said, strange to take items without paying.

“I keep waiting for someone to come up behind me for shop-lifting! But it’s wonderful. This is unbelievable.”

Dingwell-Keckritz said that it was another example of the support she and other victims of the fire have been given in the past weeks.

“We’ve had an outpouring of support from the community and from people outside of the community who don’t even know us.”

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Contact Lauren Fellers: 636-0198