20 years later, woman who fled Hurricane Katrina thankful to call Colorado home

PARKER, Colo. (KDVR) — Friday marked 20 years since Hurricane Katrina made landfall in Louisiana, causing more than $120 billion in damage and taking more than 1,000 lives.

Some of those who fled New Orleans still call Colorado home two decades later.

Marla Jones-Newman, her husband and their one-year-old daughter evacuated from their New Orleans home, thinking they’d only be gone a few days. Jones-Newman grew up in the city.

In 2005, she and her husband were living in Tremé, a neighborhood not far from the famous French Quarter. By the time late August rolled around, they had already evacuated for other storms twice that summer.

“It’s just a wonderful, warm, inviting place," Jones-Newman said. “When you grow up in New Orleans, you’re an amateur meteorologist."

The third time was ahea