BOULDER COUNTY, Colo. — As the grass turns green, spring brings hope.
The house that Pam and Dan Decker called home was one of the first to burn in the Marshall Fire. Now it’ll be one of the first to be rebuilt.
The first permit issued in the unincorporated part of Boulder County goes to a family who's been working to rebuild since two days after the fire.
"Life throws you curves all the time. You have choices for what you’re going to do about it. We’ve made the choice that we’re going to move forward. We’re excited about that," Pam Decker said. "It’s really home for us. It’s our comfort. It’s our caring place. It’s our rejuvenation place. We miss that a lot."
The news that they will get the building permit was much-needed positive news.
"There was a lot of joy with it. These were tears of joy," Dan Decker said. "Previously they’d been tears of sorrow."
Pam and Dan and their entire family have been working to get to the spot they’re at today for months. Just two days after the Dec. 30 fire destroyed everything they had, their kids started lining up architects, builders and designers to rebuild their home. They said they wouldn’t be here today without the help they’ve received from their community and family.
"It’s just tears of joy to get the building permit," Pam said. "We’ve just cried every day. We lost everything. Photos, memories, just everything. We’re finally feeling like there’s a way of coming out of it, I think."
This is one of the first building permits to be issued for a home destroyed by the Marshall Fire, so nearly everyone else is behind the Deckers. Some people are still waiting for their properties to be cleared, which could take several more weeks or months depending on where they are in line for the cleanup process.
"We can make it now," Pam said. "We know that we’re on the uphill instead of downhill. We’re not crying every day for loss. But we see the hope."
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