SUPERIOR, Colo. — Neighbors who live in Old Town Superior would argue they have some of the closest ties to one another in the entire area.
Many families raised generation after generation on the same street or block. Others date back to the mining days. For the Chavez family, multiple relatives lived on the same street.
The Marshall Fire destroyed all of Chavez relatives' homes, including Elsie, Ted and Carmen. A year later, Ted is focused on getting the first of three modular homes onto their adjacent properties.
Recently, the Chavez family met with their contractor to go over next steps in getting the modular homes to the property. First, they will need to put in a foundation.
"I see a gorgeous, beautiful house sitting here and a lot of yard work that needs to be done, and I am not doing anything now," Ted said. "I used to say I hate doing yardwork, but I actually miss it, actually miss doing the yardwork."
This felt like a significant move forward after obstacles throughout the rebuilding process over the past year. Since the fire burned hundreds of homes, only one in Louisville has been completed. Many others were in the process, but almost everyone was still waiting, like the Chavez family.
"There have been times when I’ve wanted to give up," Elsie said. "But I have family and my friends, and they are all praying for us. So they say, we got to keep going. We got to."
In the past year, it's been difficult to keep up their spirits with unexpected setbacks. They are still waiting for their building permit and other necessary documents to actually get the modular home approved.
"It’s like having ants in your pants. We are antsy now. We want to get back but like I said, Thank God, we are going to get back," said Elsie. "It’s just put more spirit into our bodies, and we know we are going to get here."
> Video below: The Chavez family shares their journey toward recovery:
More 9NEWS stories on recovery from the Marshall Fire:
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