Marshall Fire Rebuilding Begins

One year since the horrific Marshall fire people are starting to rebuild. Of the roughly 1000 homes lost, building permits have been issued for approximately a quarter of those houses. We are assisting five families to get back into their homes; we began construction on the first last month, and the other four will start in the coming month. Boulder County has done an impressive job helping owners to navigate quickly through the process. The Colorado Green Building Guild and other local organizations have stepped up to help bring resources and education to those affected. Xcel, Community Foundation, private companies and the State have all offered significant financial assistance. On the more challenging side, nearly all insurance companies underinsured their homeowners and are not offering enough for people to rebuild the same size house that they had. Many are still negotiating the total settlement, and that makes it incredibly hard for people to budget, plan, design and start construction. Lastly, there is a severe shortage of local architects, tradespeople and general contractors to help people rebuild. But all in all, the community has truly rallied around those who lost their homes, and the monumental task of rebuilding is robustly underway. By this time next year we hope and believe that hundreds of families will be starting to make their way into their new homes.